The Stamps of Canada

By Bertram W. H. Poole - August 1, 2007

Introduction

Canada was originally the French colony
of New France, which comprised the
range of territory as far west as the
Mississippi, including the Great Lakes.
After the war of independence it was
confined to what are now the provinces
of Quebec and Ontario—then known as
Upper and Lower Canada. At the confederation
(1867) it included only these
two provinces, with New Brunswick and
Nova Scotia; and since then it has been
extended by purchase (1870), by accession
of other provinces (British Columbia
in 1871 and Prince Edward Island in
1873), and by imperial order in council
(1880), until it includes all the north
American continent north of United
States territory, with the exception of
Alaska and a strip of the Labrador
coast administered by Newfoundland,
which still remains outside the Dominion
of Canada. On the Atlantic the
chief indentations which break its shores
are the Bay of Fundy (remarkable for
its tides), the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and
Hudson Bay (a huge expanse of water
with an area of about 350,000 square
miles); and the Pacific coast, which is
small relatively, is remarkably broken up
by fjord-like indentations. Off the
coast are many islands, some of them
of considerable magnitude,—Prince Edward
Is., Cape Breton Is., and Anticosti
being the most considerable on the Atlantic
side, Vancouver and Queen Charlotte
Is. on the Pacific; and in the extreme
north is the immense Arctic archipelago,
bound in perpetual ice.

The surface of the country east of the
great lakes is diversified, but characterised
by no outstanding features. Two
ranges of hills skirt the St. Lawrence—that
on the north, the Laurentians,
stretching 3,500 miles from Lake Superior
to the Atlantic, while the southern
range culminates in the bold capes
and cliffs of Gaspé. The St. Lawrence
and its tributaries form the dominating
physical feature in this section, the
other rivers being the St. John, the
Miramichi, and the Restigouche in New
Brunswick. Eastern Canada is practically
the Canadian part of the St. Lawrence
valley, (330,000 square miles), and
the great physical feature is the system
of lakes with an area of 90,000 square
miles. In addition to the tributaries of
the St. Lawrence already mentioned, the
Dominion boasts the Fraser, the Thompson,
and the greater part of the Columbia
River in British Columbia; the Athabasca
and Peace Rivers, which flow into
Lake Athabasca, and out of it as the
Slave River, which in its turn issues
from the Great Slave Lake and flows
into the Arctic Ocean as the Mackenzie
River (total length 2,800 miles); the
Albany and the Churchill, flowing into
Hudson Bay, and the Nelson, which discharges
from Lake Winnipeg into Hudson
Bay the united waters of the Assiniboine,
the Saskatchewan, the Red River
and the Winnipeg.

West of the Great Lakes the scenery
is less varied. From the lakes to the
Rockies stretches a vast level plain of a
prairie character, slowly rising from 800
feet at the east end to 3,000 feet at the
foothills of the Rockies.

The eastern and western portions of
the Dominion are heavily wooded, and
comparatively little inroad has been
made on the forest wealth of the country.
It is estimated that there are
1,200,000 square miles of woodland and
forest, chiefly spruce and pine, including
about a hundred varieties; consequently
the industries connected with the forest
are of great importance, especially since
the development of the pulp industry.
The central prairie plain is almost devoid
of forest. Agriculture is the dominant
industry in Canada, not only in
the great fertile plains of the centre, but
also on the lands which have been
cleared of forest and settled in other
parts of the Dominion.

The Canadian climate is cold in winter
and warm in summer, but healthy all the
year round. With all its extremes of
cold it permits of the cultivation in the
open air of grapes, peaches, tobacco, tomatoes,
and corn. The snow is an essential
condition of the prosperity of
the timber industry, the means of transport
in winter, the protector of the soil
from frost, and the source of endless enjoyment
in outdoor sports.

The French Canadians are almost exclusively
the descendants of the French
in Canada in 1763, there being practically
no immigration from France. The French
language is by statute, not by treaty, an
official language in the Dominion Parliament
and in Quebec, but not now in any
other province, though documents, etc.,
may for convenience be published in it.
English is understood almost everywhere
except in the rural parts of Quebec,
where the habitants speak a patois
which has preserved many of the characteristics
of 17th century French.

The Indian people, numbering a little
over 108,000 in 1902, are scattered
throughout the Dominion. They are
usually located on reserves, where
efforts, not very successful, are made to
interest them in agriculture and industry.
Many of them still follow their
ancestral occupations of hunting and
fishing, and they are much sought after
as guides in the sporting centres. The
Dominion government exercises a good
deal of parental care over them and for
them; but the race is stationary, if not
declining.

The constitution of Canada is of a
federal character, midway between the
British and United States constitutions.
The federated provinces retain their local
legislatures. The Federal Parliament
closely follows the British model, and
the cabinet is responsible to the House
of Commons. The members of the Senate
are appointed by the governor-general
in council, and retain their seats
for life, and each group of provinces is
entitled to so many senators. The numbers
of the commons vary according to
the population. The local legislatures
generally consist of one house, though
Quebec and Nova Scotia still retain their
upper houses. The Federal Parliament
is quinquennial, the local legislatures
quadrennial. The lieutenant-governors
of the provinces are appointed by the
governor-general in council. The governor-general
(appointed by the King,
though paid by Canada) has a right to
disallow or reserve bills for imperial
consent; but the veto is seldom exercised,
though the imperial authorities
practically disallowed temporarily the
preferential clauses of 1897. The Constitution
of Canada can be altered only
by Imperial Parliament, but for all practical
purposes Canada has complete self-government.

In 1534, Jacques Cartier landed on the
Gaspé coast of Quebec, of which he took
possession in the name of Francis I,
King of France. But nothing was done
towards permanent occupation and
settlement until 1608, when Samuel de
Champlain, who had visited the country
in 1603 and 1604, founded the city of
Quebec. Meantime French settlements
were made in what is now the maritime
provinces, but known to the French as
Acadia. France claimed, as a result of
this settlement, exclusive control of the
whole immense region from Acadia west
to Lake Superior, and down the Mississippi
to the Gulf of Mexico. But the
control of this region was not uncontested.
England claimed it by right of
prior discovery, based mainly on the
discovery of Newfoundland in 1497 by
John Cabot.

In the north the charter granted in
1670 by Charles II to Prince Rupert to
found the Hudson's Bay Company, with
exclusive rights of trading in the Hudson
Bay basin, was maintained till 1869,
when, on a payment of $1,500,000, their
territory was transferred to the newly
created Dominion of Canada. A long
struggle was carried on between England
and France for the dominion of the
North American continent, which ended
in the cession of Acadia by the treaty
of Utrecht in 1713, and the cession of
Canada by the treaty of Paris in 1763.
Of all its Canadian dependency France
retained only the Islands of St. Pierre
and Miquelon, off the coast of Newfoundland,
and the vexatious French-shore
rights.

During the war of American Independence
Canada was invaded by the
Americans, and the end of the war saw
a great influx of loyalists from the
United States, and the formation of two
new colonies—New Brunswick and Upper
Canada (now Ontario). The treaty
of peace in 1783 took away from Canada
territory now included within Minnesota,
Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and
Wisconsin. In 1791, owing to differences
of race, Upper Canada was separated
from Lower Canada; but discontent
resulted in rebellion in 1837-8 which
occasioned Lord Durham's mission and
report. The results of that were the
granting of responsible government to
the colonists, and in 1840 the reunion
of the two provinces. But the different
elements, British and French Canadians,
worked no better together than they had
done while separated; and in 1867, as
an escape from the deadlocks which
occurred, confederation was consummated.
After the War of Independence
the history of Canada is chiefly concerned
with the gradual removal of the
commercial preferences she had enjoyed
in the English market, and the
gradual concession of complete powers
of self-government.

The half-breeds of the north-west
broke out in rebellion in 1869-70, but it
collapsed as soon as the forces led by
Colonel Wolseley reached Fort Garry on
Winnipeg. Riel, the leader, escaped, to
return later and foment another outbreak
in 1885. This proved more dangerous
but was eventually suppressed
and Riel executed. The chief events
since have been the Halifax award
(1888), which justified the Canadian
contention against the United States interference
with fisheries. The Behring
Sea award (1897) settled the sealing
difficulty; and a joint commission met at
Quebec in 1898 to determine all outstanding
questions between Canada and
the United States. In 1903 these reached
a final solution in the Alaskan Boundary
Commission's settlement of the frontier
line between British Columbia and
Alaska.

Chapter I. Its Postal History.

The Stamp Collector's Magazine for
August, 1868, contained an interesting
article on the history of the Canadian
Post-office, largely compiled from information
given in the “Canadian Postal
Guide,” which we cannot do better than
quote in full.

The earliest records of the administration
of the post-office in Canada, are
dated 1750, at which period the celebrated
Benjamin Franklin was Deputy
Postmaster-General of North America.
At the time of his appointment, the revenue
of the department was insufficient
to defray his salary of $1500 per annum,
but under his judicious management, not
only was the postal accommodation in
the provinces considerably extended, but
the revenue so greatly increased, that
ere long the profit for one year, which
he remitted to the British Treasury,
amounted to $15,000.

In the evidence given by Franklin before
the House of Commons in the year
1766, in regard to the extent of the post-office
accommodation in North America,
he made the following statement:—

The posts generally travel along the
sea coasts, and only in a few cases do
they go back into the country. Between
Quebec and Montreal there is
only one post per month. The inhabitants
live so scattered and remote from
each other in that vast country, that
the posts cannot be supported amongst
them. The English colonies, too, along
the frontier, are very thinly settled.

In 1774, Franklin was recalled, and the
following year the War of Independence
broke out, and the office was filled by
Mr. Hugh Finlay, who had, under his
predecessor, been postmaster at Quebec.

Canada is divided into Upper and
Lower. From a Quebec almanack of
1796, we glean that there were seven
offices in the former and five in the latter.
Mr. Finlay is designated as “Deputy
Postmaster-General of His Majesty's
Province of Canada.”

At that time mails were dispatched
monthly to England, and semi-weekly
between Quebec and Montreal, or Halifax.
At Baie des Chaleurs the visits of
the postman must, we conclude, have
been few and far between, as they were
only favored with a mail “as occasion
offered”.

In 1800, Mr. George Heriot succeeded
Mr. Finlay. At this time Prince Edward
Island, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick,
were all under the authority of
the Canadian administration.

The following is taken from the advertising
column of the Upper Quebec
Gazette, printed in 1807:—

The mail for Upper Canada will be
dispatched from the post-office at
Montreal, on the following days, to
wit:

A courier from Kingston may be
looked for here in 14 or 15 days from
the above periods, where he will remain
2 or 3 days, and then return to
Kingston.

Another courier will proceed from
this with the Niagara mail, via Messrs.
Hatts', where the Sandwich (co. Essex)
letters will be left, both from
Niagara and this 'till the courier
comes from there to return with them.

Letters put into the post-office will
be forwarded any time by

W. Allan,
Acting Deputy Postmaster.

Mr. Heriot resigned in 1816, and was
succeeded by Mr. D. Sutherland, who,
on his accession to office, found Nova
Scotia and Prince Edward Island wholly
withdrawn from the Canada charge.
New Brunswick, however, continued to
be included in it. This appears also to
have been withdrawn in 1824, so that
from that date until just lately, we have
to do with Canada proper.

In 1827 there were 101 post-offices,
and 2,368 miles of established post-route.
The number of miles of mail-travel was
455,000. The letters that year were estimated
at 340,000, and newspapers, 400,000.
From the Canadian Postmaster-General's
report for 1865, now lying before
us, we find the number of letters
had increased to 12,000,000; the miles
of annual mail-travel was 6,350,000, the
mails being carried regularly over 1,931
miles of railway route.

The following extract from the Quebec
Mercury, published on July 18, 1829,
conveys some idea of the postal communication
with England at that period:

No later advices have been received
from Europe since our last. Some
further extracts from the London
papers, to 31st May, inclusive, brought
to New York by the Corinthian, will
be found in another part of this number.

In the Montreal Courant, dated September
2nd, 1829, was the following
paragraph, showing the improvement
which had been effected in the communication
between Prescott and that city:—

Expeditious Travelling.—On Saturday
last, the Upper Canada line of
stages performed the journey from
Prescott to this city in about 17 hours,
leaving the former place at a little before
3 a.m., and arriving here a few
minutes before 8 in the evening. Not
many years ago this journey occupied
two, and sometimes three days, but
owing to the great improvements made
by Mr. Dickinson, the enterprising
proprietor, by putting steamboats on
the lakes St. Francis and St. Louis,
and keeping his horses in excellent
condition, it is now performed in little
more than one-third of the time.

Even so late as 1833, newspaper proprietors
found it (particularly in the
Upper Province) better to employ their
own couriers. As a proof of this we
transcribe from the Queenston (Niagara)
Colonial Advocate, of that year
the following advertisement:—

Post-rider Wanted Immediately.

The proprietor of this newspaper
wishes to contract with a steady man
(who can find and uphold his own
horse) to deliver it to the subscribers
once a week during the winter, on the
route between York and Niagara, via
Ancaster.

Mr. Thomas A. Stayner was postmaster
in 1841, and through his recommendation
a uniform rate of 1s 2d sterling,
per half ounce, was adopted between
any place in Canada and the
mother country. About this time regular
steam communication across the Atlantic
was established.

The transfer of the Canadian post-office
from the control of the imperial
authorities to the Colonial government,
was effected April 6th, 1851. Mr. Stayner
then resigned, and the office was
filled by the Hon. James Morris, who
was the first Postmaster-General. This
may be termed the red-letter year of the
Canadian post-office. In the first place,
the postage, which had hitherto been
according to distance and had averaged
15 cents on each letter, was reduced to
a uniform rate of 5 cents per half ounce.
The newspaper charge was also considerably
reduced. Within a year after, the
number of letters transmitted through
the post had increased 75 per cent. The
operation of the department was greatly
extended, and last, but most decidedly
not least, was the introduction of postage
stamps. In February, 1855, the
money-order system was first begun, and
has within the last few years been greatly
extended. Letters seem to have been
first registered in 1856. In October of
that year the Grand Trunk Railway was
completed as far as Toronto so that, in
connection with the Great Western, an
unbroken line of postal communication
was established between Quebec in the
east and Windsor in the west.

The decimal system of coinage was
introduced in 1859; this, of course, as is
well known, necessitated a new issue of
postal labels.

We now arrive at the issue of labels
for the new Dominion. The post-office
act was passed on the 21st of December,
1867, and came into operation the 1st
of April last. The internal rate is reduced
from 5 cents to 3 cents the half
ounce; but the postage to this country
remains unchanged.

The following is the order for the issue
of the new labels:—

Postage Stamps

To enable the public to prepay conveniently
by postage stamp the foregoing
rates, the following denominations
of postage stamps for use
throughout the Dominion, have been
prepared, and will be supplied to postmasters
for sale:—

The postage stamps now in use in
the several provinces may be accepted,
as at present, in prepayment of letters,
etc., for a reasonable time after the 1st
of April; but from and after that date
all issues and sales to the public will
be of the new denomination.

Continuing the postal history from
where the article in the Stamp Collector's
Magazine concludes we find that in
1869 the color of the 1c value was
changed to yellow as it was found that
the brown-red color was too easily confused
with the red of the 3c. Early in
the following year the 3c denomination
appeared in a reduced size to be followed
about April by the 1c and it was, naturally,
presumed that the whole set would
appear in this form. Two years elapsed,
however, before further additions were
made for it was not until 1872 that the
2c and 6c values appeared.

In 1874, an entirely new value—10
cents—was issued and in 1875 a 5c stamp
made its appearance in the large size of
the 1868 series. Mr. C. A. Howes, in
his admirable monograph on the stamps
of Canada, explains the belated appearance
of this label as follows:—“The die
of this large 5 cent stamp had been engraved
in 1867 with the other values of
the first Dominion series, but as there
were no rates requiring such a denomination
in the set, it was not issued. When
in 1875 the need for a 5 cent value arose,
the unused die was employed to make a
plate for temporary use, until a new die
conforming in size and design with the
small stamps could be prepared.” This
large 5 cent stamp had a short life of
about four months when it was superseded
by the 5c value in the same size
as the other denominations of 1869-73.

In 1882, the ½c value was reduced in
size so that this stamp, as in the case of
its predecessor of 1868, was smaller than
the other denominations. From that date
until 1892 no further changes were made
so far as new designs or values were
concerned though some striking alterations
in shade took place, notably in the
case of the 6c and 10c values.

In 1892, 20c and 50c stamps were issued
for use on heavy packages. These
not only differed in design from the
other stamps of the series then current
but were also very much larger. In 1893
an 8c stamp was issued which was used
for prepayment of postage and the registration
fee and upon its advent the
special registration stamps ceased to be
printed though existing stocks were, presumably,
used up. In 1897, the Diamond
Jubilee of Queen Victoria was celebrated
by the issue of a special series of
stamps comprising no less than sixteen
values ranging all the way from ½c to
$5. As to the utility, to say nothing of
the necessity, of some of the higher denominations
perhaps the less said the
better for before and since Canada has
managed to get along very well with a
highest regular denomination of 50c.

In the latter months of the same year,
and early in 1898 a new set was issued
in a uniform design showing the jubilee
portrait of the Queen. This is known
as the maple leaf issue from the fact
that the lower angles are ornamented
with maple leaves and in contradistinction
to a modified design which almost
immediately replaced it which had numerals
in the lower corners.

The Christmas of 1898 was marked by
the issuance of the celebrated 2c map
stamp with its proud motto “We hold a
vaster Empire than has been”. This
stamp was issued to mark the introduction
of Imperial Penny Postage, and
one consequence of the reduction in the
postal rate was so to reduce the demand
for the 3c value that in order to use up
existing supplies more quickly they were
overprinted “2 cents”.

In 1899, the color of the 2c stamp was
changed from purple to carmine, thus
conforming to Postal Union regulations,
in December, 1900, a 20c stamp of the
type of 1898 was issued on the final exhaustion
of the stock of the 1893 type;
and in 1902 a 7c value was issued in
place of the 8c for combined use in payment
of registration and postage.

In 1903, 1c, 2c, 5c, 7c, and 10c values
were issued bearing King Edward's portrait,
a year later the 20c value in the
same type was placed on sale, and in
1908, the stock of the old 50c stamps of
1893 having at last been used up, a King
Edward stamp of that value was issued.
In the same year the three hundredth
anniversary of the founding of Quebec
by Champlain was celebrated by the issue
of a special set of stamps these being
of the same large size as the Jubilee
series of 1897, but with a different design
for each denomination, while in 1912 a
new series bearing the portrait of King
George V made its bow and this completes
Canada's postal history to date.

Chapter II. A Postmaster's Provisional.

Postage stamps were first placed on
sale to the public in Canada on April
23rd, 1851, as we shall show later, but,
according to an interesting article which
appeared in the London Philatelist for
June, 1904, it seems possible that at least
one postmaster anticipated events slightly
by issuing a stamped envelope of his
own shortly before the regular governmental
stamps were ready. It will perhaps
simplify matters to reproduce the
article in its original form, viz.:—

Canada: Hand-Stamped 3d Envelope
of 1851.

We are indebted to Mr. E. B. Greenshields,
of Montreal, for the following
very interesting information:—

The following facts may be of interest
to collectors of the stamps of
British North America. Some time
ago a cover was offered to me, which
seemed to me to be absolutely genuine,
yet I had never, up to that time, heard
of such envelopes being in existence.
This letter was posted in New Carlisle,
Gaspé, Lower Canada, on April 7th,
1851, and was stamped “Three Pence”
in two lines, inside a square, with a
black border of neat design around
the sides. Across this was written,
“Letter R. W. Kelly Apl. 1851”.
The letter was addressed to Toronto,
C. W., and on the other side was
stamped the date the letter was received,
“Apl. 16 1851”. I sent the
envelope to Mr. Donald A. King, of
Halifax, and received the following
reply from him:—

Halifax, N. S., February 22nd, 1904.

“Dear Sir,—I have yours of 19th
inst. with cover, and am much obliged
for your kindness in permitting me to
have a look at it. It is new to me. I
have no doubt it is absolutely genuine,
and probably was made by the Postmaster
at New Carlisle to save trouble
in stamping the letter '3d' as was then
the custom. It is just possible that the
writer (whose name appears to be endorsed
on the envelope) was the Postmaster
there. A reference to the Postmaster-General's
report for that year
would give his name. As far as my
memory serves me, the Canadian
stamps were not then in issue, though
an advance circular may have been
sent out. I have shown the cover to
a friend of mine who is an expert in
typography, and he assures me that
the printing is as old as dated, and
that such type and border could not
be procured now at any cost. The
only thing that I have seen that resembles
it in any way was a cover
from Prince Edward Island, prepaid
with a square of white paper stamped
3d and cancelled. This was an adhesive,
and used some years after stamps
were in use. As in your case, it had
been recognised as paying postage.
As to the value of your cover, it is
impossible for me to say, but very
considerable to any collector of British
North America.

“Yours faithfully,

“Donald A. King.”

Following up the clue given to me
by Mr. King, I wrote to the Post
Office Department at Ottawa, and received
the following courteous answer:—

Ottawa, 2nd March, 1904.

“Sir,—I am directed to acknowledge
receipt of your communication of the
26th ultimo, inquiring whether R. W.
Kelly was Postmaster of New Carlisle,
Co. Gaspé, Quebec, in 1851, and
in reply am directed to inform you
that R. W. Kelly, doubtless the same
man, was Postmaster of New Carlisle
in 1851. Owing to the incompleteness
of the early records of the
department, which was then under the
direction of the British Office, the date
of Mr. Kelly's appointment cannot be
ascertained. He appears to have been
Postmaster from 1851, however, until
his resignation on the 9th April, 1855.

“As regards your inquiry as to
whether postage stamps were used on
the 7th April, 1851, and your statement
that you have an envelope sent
on that date from New Carlisle to
Toronto with 'Three Pence' printed on
it, inside a fancy border, I have to
say that postage stamps were issued to
the public for the first time on the
23rd April, 1851, and that stamped envelopes
were not issued until some
years later. The stamped envelope to
which you refer may have been an
envelope so stamped on the prepayment
in the New Carlisle Post Office,
of three pence, the required charge for
postage.

“I am, sir, your obedient servant,

“William Smith, Secretary.”

It will be noted from the conclusion
of this letter that, according to the
department at Ottawa, one might infer
that the use of such a stamp would
not be irregular. This is confirmed by
the following extract from a reply to
a letter a friend of mine wrote to
Ottawa at my request:—

Ottawa, March 2nd, 1904.

“I took those questions of Mr.
Greenshields over to Mr. —— of the
Post Office Department. He tells me
that before the first issue of stamps,
which took place on the 23rd of April,
1851, each Postmaster had a steel
stamp which he used to mark the
amount prepaid on the letter. These
stamps were of different patterns, and
it is probably the impression of one of
them that appears on Mr. Greenshield's
envelope. In some of the
smaller post-offices they continued to
use these stamps as late as 1875.

“It is rather a singular coincidence
that if the inquiry had been, regarding
the position of Postmaster, more
than one day earlier, the Canadian
records would not have shown
whether the man named had held
office or not, the reason being that it
was on the 6th of April, 1851, that the
Post Office Department was transferred
from the Imperial Government,
and all records prior to that date are
in the possession of the Imperial authorities.”

It seems strange that more of these
covers have not been found. Such
well-known authorities on the stamps
of British North America as Mr.
Lachlan Gibb and Mr. William Patterson,
of Montreal, and Mr. Donald A.
King, of Halifax, had not seen any
until I consulted them about this one.
I think it is very interesting to hear
of a stamped envelope like this being
used by the Post Office just before the
issue of postage stamps.

So far as we have been able to find
out the above constitutes all that has
been published regarding this envelope.
We can find no further mention of it in
the columns of the London Philatelist
or of any other journal published since
1904 nor does Mr. Howes so much as
refer to it in his recently published
monograph on Canada's postal issues.
Yet, on the face of it, the matter seems
one worthy of extended investigation by
some Canada specialist or other. Its
history, as given above, is similar in
many respects to the history of many of
the much sought after Postmaster's provisional
stamps of the United States and
there is a possibility that this envelope
may represent a legitimate postmaster's
provisional.

Chapter III. The First Issue.

In common with the other Colonies
of British North America Canada was
granted the privilege of administrating
its own postal service in 1850, and in
the same year an Act was passed providing
for the change. It is hardly
necessary to quote this Act in full
though the following extracts are of
interest:—

Cap. VII.

An Act to provide for the transfer
of the management of the Inland Posts
to the Provincial Government, and for
the Regulation of the said department.

II.—And be it enacted, that the Inland
Posts and Post Communications
in this Province shall, so far as may
be consistent with the Acts of the Parliament
of the United Kingdom in
force in this Province, be exclusively
under Provincial management and
control; the revenues arising from the
duties and postage dues receivable by
the officers employed in managing such
Posts and Post Communications shall
form part of the Provincial Revenue,
unless such monies belong of right to
the United Kingdom, or to some other
Colony, or to some Foreign State, and
the expenses of management shall be
defrayed out of Provincial Funds, and
that the Act passed in the Eighth year
of Her Majesty's Reign, and entitled
An Act to provide for the management
of the Customs, and of matter
relative to the collection of the Provincial
Revenue, shall apply to the said
Posts and Post Communications, and
to the officers and persons employed in
managing the same, or in collecting or
accounting for the duties and dues
aforesaid, except in so far as any provision
of the said Act may be insusceptible
of such application, or may be
inconsistent with any provision of this
Act.

VIII.—And in conformity to the
agreement made as aforesaid between
the Local Governments of the several
Colonies of British North America, be
it enacted that the Provincial Postage
on letters and packets not being newspapers,
printed pamphlets, magazines
or books, entitled to pass at a lower
rate, shall not exceed Threepence currency per half-ounce, for any distance
whatsoever within this Province, any
fraction of a half-ounce being chargeable
as a half-ounce; that no transit
postage shall be charged on any letter
or packet passing through this Province,
or any part thereof, to any
other Colony in British North America,
unless it be posted in this Province,
and the sender choose to prepay
it; nor on any letter or packet from
any such Colony, if prepaid there; that
Twopence sterling the half-ounce shall
remain as the rate in operation as regards
letter by British mails, to be
extended to countries having Postal
Conventions with the United Kingdom,
unless Her Majesty's Government
in the United Kingdom shall see
fit to allow this rate to be changed to
Threepence currency; that the prepayment
of Provincial Postage shall be
optional.

That all Provincial Postage received
within the Province shall be retained
as belonging to it, and that all Provincial
Postage received within any
other Colony of the British North
American Colonies may be retained,
as belonging to such Colony. That
no privilege of franking shall be
allowed as regards the Provincial
Postage. That Provincial Stamps for
the prepayment of postage may be
prepared under the orders of the Governor
in Council, which stamps shall
be evidence of the prepayment of Provincial
Postage to the amount mentioned
on such stamps; and that such
stamps, prepared under the direction
of the proper authorities in the other
British North American Colonies,
shall be allowed in this Province as
evidence of the prepayment of Provincial
Postage in such other Colonies
respectively, on the letters or packets
to which they are affixed and which
have been mailed there.

The passage of the above Act and its
approval by the Imperial government
was followed by a notice to postmasters
which gave the date at which the transfer
of the postal system from Imperial
to Provincial authority was to take
effect, gave more explicit instructions
with regard to rates of postage, and
stated that postage stamps were being
prepared. Mr. Howes gives the chief
provisions of this Notice as follows:—

Notice to Postmasters.

General Post Office.Montreal, 14th March, 1851.

Sir:—

I am commanded by His Excellency
the Governor General, to communicate
to you the following instructions,
for your guidance in the performance
of your duties, under the New Post
Office Law of the 13th and 14th Vict.,
chap. 17, passed at the last Session of
the Provincial Parliament, which will
take effect, and supersede the Imperial
Post Office Acts, hitherto in force in
Canada, on and from the 6th day of
April next:

1.—From the above date, all Letters
transmitted by the Post in Canada,
with the exception of Packet Letters
to and from the United Kingdom,
will be liable to a uniform rate of
Three Pence, currency, per half-ounce
for whatever distance conveyed: prepayment
will be optional: the charge
increasing according to the weight of
the Letter, one single rate for every
additional half-ounce, counting the
fraction of a half-ounce as a full rate,
thus:

A Letter, weighing not exceeding ½
ounce, will be liable to 3d postage.

A Letter, weighing more than ½
ounce, and not exceeding 1 ounce, will
be liable to 6d Postage.

A Letter, weighing more than 1
ounce, and not exceeding 1½ ounces
will be liable to 9d Postage, and so on.

It will be observed that the above
scale differs from that now followed,
in advancing one rate for each half-ounce
after the first ounce.

2.—The single Packet rate for Letters
by the Atlantic Steam Packet
Mails to and from England, via the
United States, of 1s 2d sterling, if
unpaid, and 1s 4d currency, if prepaid,
as also the rate on Letters, by
those mails, via Halifax, of 1s sterling,
if unpaid, and 1s 1½d currency,
if prepaid, remain unaltered, and the
present scale of weights is to remain
in force as regards such Letters.

Post Masters must be very careful
to observe this distinction when taxing
letters, weighing over one-ounce, intended
for the English Mails.

3.—The regulations now in force
with regard to Letters to and from
Soldiers and Sailors in Her Majesty's
Service, by which under certain conditions
such Letters pass through the
Post on prepayment of a penny only,
remain unaltered.

5.—Letters addressed to New Brunswick,
Nova Scotia, Prince Edward's
Island, or Newfoundland, are to be
rated with the uniform rate of 3d per
half-ounce.

6.—Letters to and from the United
States will be liable to the uniform
rate of 3d per half-ounce, between the
Frontier line and the place of posting
or place of destination in Canada;
and until further arrangements can
be made, this charge on Letters from
Canada to the United States must be
prepaid at the time of Posting.

9.—The charge on Letters posted at
an office for delivery in the same City,
Town, or Place, and any additional
charge made on Letters delivered at
the residence of parties to whom they
are addressed, are to remain as at
present, until further instructions.

10.—No Franking Privilege is allowed
under the New Act, except with
regard to Letters and Packets on the
business of the Post Office, addressed
to or transmitted by the Post Master
General.

13.—Stamps for the prepayment of
Postage are being prepared and will
be distributed for the use of the public
at an early date.

T. A. Stayner.Deputy Post Master General.

Shortly afterwards a Notice, or Department
Order, dated April 2nd, 1851,
was issued to postmasters regarding the
rates of postage between Canada and
the United States, California and Oregon.
It is hardly necessary to reproduce
this in its entirety and it will
suffice to state that the rate on single
letters to the United States was sixpence
currency, equivalent to ten cents
in United States money, while to California
and Oregon the rate was nine
pence currency per half-ounce. On
newspapers, pamphlets, etc., the rates
were the same as those for Canada itself
with the stipulation that all such
mail must be prepaid. Certain offices
were named for handling the mail between
Canada and the United States,
viz: Post Sarnia, Windsor, Fort Erie,
Queenston (the channel of communication
with the United States for the
country west of Toronto), Niagara, Toronto,
Cobourg (a communication during
summer only, by steamer to Rochester),
Kingston, Brockville, Prescott, Montreal,
St. John's, Dundee, and Stanstead.

On the 21st of April, 1851, an Order
was issued from the Post Office Department
referring to the issue of stamps.
The most interesting paragraphs from
this order are:—

Postage Stamps are about to be issued,
one representing the Beaver, of
the denomination of Three pence;
the second representing the head of
Prince Albert, of the denomination of
Six pence; and the third, representing
the head of Her Majesty, of the denomination
of One shilling; which
will shortly be transmitted to the Post
Masters at important points, for sale.

Any Letter or Packet, with one or
more Stamps affixed, equal in amount
to the Postage properly chargeable
thereon, may be mailed and forwarded
from any office as a prepaid Letter or
Packet; but if the Stamps affixed be
not adequate to the proper Postage,
the Post Master receiving the Letter
or Packet for transmission will rate it
with the amount deficient in addition.
This Regulation concerning Letters
short paid has reference only to Letters
passing within the Province.

Stamps so affixed are to be immediately
cancelled in the office in which
the Letter or Packet may be deposited,
with an instrument to be furnished
for that purpose. In Post Offices not
so furnished, the stamps must be cancelled
by making a cross (X) on each
with a pen. If the cancelling has been
omitted on the mailing of the Letter,
the Post Master delivering it will cancel
the stamp in the manner directed,
and immediately report the Post Master
who may have been delinquent, to
the Department. Bear in mind that
Stamps must invariably be cancelled
before mailing the Letters to which
they are affixed.

It is rather interesting to note that the
series comprised only three values,
though the postal rates, as shown in the
Notice quoted above, and further amplified
in a lengthy set of “Regulations and
Instructions” called for numerous rates
of ½d and 1d as well as 7½d so that
it certainly seems strange that no provision
was made for stamps by means of
which such rates could be prepaid.

The beaver is typical of Canada, for
the prosperity of the Colony is largely
founded on this animal, whose skin has
been a valuable article of commerce
since the days of the early trappers in
the land of the maple tree. The choice
of a beaver as the central theme of the
design of Canada's first stamp—the 3d
value—is, therefore, particularly appropriate.
The stamp is rectangular in
shape and the centrepiece is enclosed
within a transverse oval band inscribed
“CANADA POSTAGE” at the top, and
“THREE PENCE” below. Above the
beaver is an Imperial crown which
breaks into the oval band and divides
the words “CANADA” and “POSTAGE.”
This crown rests on a rose,
shamrock, and thistle (emblematic of
the United Kingdom) and on either side
are the letters “V R” (Victoria Regina,
i.e. Queen Victoria). In each of the
angles is a large uncolored numeral “3”.
Mr. Howes tells us that this stamp was
designed by Sir Stanford Fleming, a
civil engineer and draughtsman.

The beaver, depicted on this stamp,
rejoices in the scientific name of Castor
fiber. It is a rodent of social habits and
was at one time widely distributed over
Europe and North America. It is now
practically extinct except in Canada and
even there it is said to be in great danger
of extermination. Full-grown animals
vary in length from thirty to thirty-six
inches. They are covered with short,
thick fur, which is of considerable value
and their structural peculiarities are
well worth noting. The beaver is furnished
with powerful incisor teeth, with
which it is able to bite through fairly
large trees, and its fore paws are very
strong. Its hind feet are webbed, so
that it is a powerful swimmer, and its
tail is flattened, and serves as an excellent
rudder. Its ears are small and
when laid back prevent any water entering
them. Beavers generally live in
colonies, and show remarkable intelligence
and ingenuity in the construction
of their homes or “lodges” and in the
building of dams, where water in the
vicinity of their dwellings has become
too shallow to suit their tastes. These
dwellings are often constructed on the
banks of rivers, but the Canadian beaver
is particularly fond of building lodges in
the centre of large expanses of fairly
shallow water. These are made of turf,
tree-trunks, and other materials, and are
often used as store houses for food reserves,
as well as for living in.

The 6d stamp follows the usual upright
rectangular form and its central
design consists of the portrait of Prince
Albert, the Royal Consort. The portrait
is enclosed within an upright oval
inscribed in a similar manner to the 3d
but with, of course, “SIXPENCE” on
its lower portion. The numeral “6” is
shown in each of the four angles. Albert
Francis Charles Augustus Emanuel
the younger of the two sons of Ernest,
Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, was born
in 1819. He was carefully educated at
Brussels and Bonn (1836-8), where he
showed himself an ardent student, acquired
many accomplishments, and developed
a taste for music and the fine
arts. King Leopold and Baron Stockmar
had long contemplated an alliance
between Prince Albert and Princess
Victoria, and the pair were brought together
in 1836. When the succession of
Victoria was assured the betrothal took
place, and on February 19th, 1840, the
marriage, which was one of real affection
on both sides, was solemnized in
the Chapel Royal, St. James Palace.
The Prince Consort's position as the
husband of a constitutional sovereign
was difficult, and in the early years of
his married life his interference in matters
of state was resented. Ultimately
he became “a sort of minister, without
portfolio, of art and education”, and in
this capacity won much esteem and popularity.
He also interested himself in
agriculture and in social and industrial
reform. To him was due the Great
Exhibition of 1851, which resulted in a
balance of a million dollars available
for the encouragement of science and
art. His personal character was very
high, and he exercised great influence on
his children. He was an ideal consort,
and entirely worthy of the title “Albert,
the Good”. On December 14th, 1861,
he succumbed to an attack of fever, and
was buried in St. George's Chapel,
Windsor. His remains were afterwards
removed to the mausoleum at Frogmore.

The 12d stamp is very similar in design
to the 6d denomination but bears
the portrait of Queen Victoria. The
life and reign of Queen Victoria are
matters of such general knowledge that
biographical details are hardly necessary.
A few words, however, regarding
the source of this handsome portrait,
which was used to adorn so many of
the earlier British Colonial stamps, will
not be amiss. Mr. Howes tells us that
this portrait “was taken from the full
length painting by Alfred Edward
Chalon, R. A., which was ordered by
the Queen for her mother, the Duchess
of Kent, as a souvenir of Her Majesty's
first visit to the House of Lords. The
occasion was the prorogation of Parliament,
on July 17th, 1837, and the Queen
is portrayed in her robes of state, because
of which fact the painting is
sometimes described as ‘in Coronation
Robes’, but this is erroneous.”

The 12d requires a few words in explanation
of the manner in which the
value was expressed for “One Shilling”
would appear to be a more natural form
for this amount rather than “Twelve
Pence”. Mr. Donald A. King says:—“This
was undoubtedly done intentionally,
as though it was intended for a one
shilling stamp, yet it could not be called
that, as there were a number of shillings
of different values in circulation in the
Colony. If the stamp had been lettered
‘One Shilling’, the Post Office was liable
to have tendered for it 6½d, 7½d, 10d
or 12d, according to locality”.

Mr. Howes gives a fuller explanation
which we cannot do better than quote in
his own words:—

“A glance back at the rates of postage
we have already quoted will show
that it was generally necessary to give
them in two forms, ‘currency’ and
‘sterling’. The somewhat depreciated
Canadian currency required fifteen
pence, as will be noted, to equal the
shilling sterling—a point brought out
on the two stamps issued subsequently
for the British Packet rates. Add to
this fact that in New England the
‘shilling’ was a current expression for
16⅔ cents (10 pence currency), while
in New York it represented 12½ cents
(7½ pence currency) and we can
readily see that in Canadian territory
contiguous to these sections the number
of pence to a ‘shilling’ might often
be a debatable quantity. As a matter
of fact the French Canadians of Lower
Canada made general use of the
‘shilling’ as reckoned at 10 pence (20
cents) in the old currency, while the
‘York shilling’ was extensively used
in Upper Canada. ‘Twelve Pence’ was
without doubt wholly intentional,
therefore, as the designation of the
stamp, and was happy solution of any
ambiguity in its use, even if it has
proved a stumbling block to the understanding
of latter day collectors.”

The three values forming this first
issue were manufactured by Messrs.
Rawdon, Wright, Hatch and Edson, of
New York, who are, perhaps, better
known to fame as the engravers of the
1847, 5c and 10c stamps for the United
States government. All three stamps were
printed from plates engraved in taille
douce the plates consisting of one hundred
impressions arranged in ten horizontal
rows of ten each. The manufacturer's
imprint—“Rawdon, Wright,
Hatch & Edson, New York”—was engraved
twice on each of the four sides
quite close to the stamps. The imprints
were so placed that the bottoms
of the letters are always next to the
stamps with the consequence that on the
printed sheets of stamps the imprints
read upwards at the left, downwards
at the right, and upside down on the
bottom margins.

A variety of the 3d denomination is
catalogued with “double transfer”. This
is, of course, a plate variety caused like
all similar ones by a faulty or incorrect
rocking of the roller impression on the
plate and a correction on top of this
impression which did not always entirely
obliterate the first impression.
Mr. Howes says this variety “is recognized
by the letters EE PEN being
‘doubled’ at the top, making it appear
as if a line had been drawn through the
words and giving it the name occasionally
used of the ‘line through threepence’
variety.” There are at least two other
similar varieties of “double transfers”
known on this value for in the Philatelic
World for December, 1908, Mr.
A. J. Sefi described and illustrated three
different ones. One of these is a variety
mentioned by Mr. Howes, another
shows a distinct doubling of parts of the
details of the two left-hand corners,
while the third variety shows a doubling
of the upper right hand corner. It is
quite possible a close study of these
stamps would reveal others and also
similar varieties in the 6d and 12d.
“Double strikes” are not uncommon on
stamps produced by the line-engraved
process though they are not often so
striking as the first of these Canadian
varieties and those found on the United
States 10c stamp of 1847.

According to a valuable summary
from official records published in the
Metropolitan Philatelist we learn that
the first delivery of stamps from the
manufacturers took place on April 5th,
1851, when 100,000 of the 3d denomination
were delivered to the Canadian
Government. On April 20th,
a second supply of the same value
comprising 150,200 stamps arrived in
Canada. On May 2nd 100,400 of the 6d
were received followed two days later by
51,400 of the 12d this latter being the only
consignment of the highest value ever
received from the printers. We have
already pointed out that the 3d was
placed on sale on April 23rd, 1851. The
date of issue of the 6d is not known for
certain as there are no official records
relating to this though, as a supply was
received on May 2nd, they were doubtless
issued some time during the same
month. The 12d was issued on June 14th
as we shall show later.

The three values of this series, as well
as other denominations in pence issued
later, were withdrawn from use on July
1st, 1859, when decimal currency was
introduced. By means of much diligent
search through Post Office Reports and
other records Mr. Howes has determined
that a total of 3,528,700 3d
stamps were issued and a total of
402,900 of the 6d value. Some of both
these values were issued with perforation
late in 1857 or early in 1858. Unfortunately
there is no means of separating
these from the imperforate ones
as shown by the official figures but if we
use the somewhat rough-and-ready
means of reckoning afforded by catalogue
quotations it would seem that of
the above totals about three million of
the 3d and 325,000 of the 6d were
imperforate.

The 12d value, as every collector
knows, is a very rare stamp. Even had
the full supply of 51,000 stamps, received
in the first and only consignment
from the manufacturers on May 4th,
1851, been issued, it would have been a
rare variety, but as a matter of fact,
the greater portion of the consignment
was destroyed and only 1510 were actually
issued. An interesting article
published in the Metropolitan Philatelist
in 1902 shows that this denomination
was first issued on June 14th, 1851,
and supplies were made to various post
offices as follows:—

No. Stamps

June 14th, 1851

Hamilton

300

Oct. 17th, 1851

Chippewa

100

Nov. 13th, 1851

Thorold

20

Nov. 25th, 1851

Toronto

200

Mar. 8th, 1852

Montreal

200

Sept. 14th, 1852

Ingersoll

100

Apr. 5th, 1853

Ottawa (then known as Bytown)

100

Oct. 20th, 1853

Sherbrooke

15

Jan. 13th, 1854

Smith's Falls

50

Jan. 20th, 1854

Ottawa

100

Feb. 8th, 1854

L'Islet

15

Feb. 27th, 1854

Ingersoll

20

Mar. 22nd, 1854

Sault S. Marie

25

May 15th, 1854

Port. du Fort

15

Oct. 21st, 1854

Rowan Mills

50

Oct. 26th, 1854

Melbourne

50

Oct. 27th, 1854

Montreal

100

Dec. 4th, 1854

Smith's Falls

50

Total stamps

1,510

The consignment sent to Smith's
Falls on December 4th, 1854, was the
last distributed. While we can trace no
official notice referring to the discontinuance
of this denomination, or the
actual date at which it ceased to be
used, the writer of the article referred
to above says that the balance of 49,490
stamps were destroyed on May 1st, 1857,
“in accordance with the practice of the
Department in cases of the discontinuance
of stamps” though as this was the
first Canadian stamp to be discontinued,
a precedent could hardly have been established.

The following interesting excerpt
from the Stamp Collectors' Magazine
for April, 1870, states that the 12d value
was discontinued in 1855 and it also
lays considerable stress on the scarcity
of used specimens of this stamp, viz:—

One of our readers observing from
a reply we made to a correspondent
in the last October number, that we
were in doubt as to whether the 12d
was ever actually used, has been good
enough to write the Deputy Postmaster-General
on the subject and has
obtained from him the following
reply:—

“Ottawa, 28th October, 1869.

Dear Sir:—In reply to your note of
the 26th inst., let me say that the
twelve penny postage stamps were issued
to the public in 1851, but did not
find favor, and so few were sold—only
a few hundred altogether in
three or four years—that they ceased
to be issued in 1855.

I am, dear Sir, yours very faithfully,

W. A. Smyth.”

This is satisfactorily conclusive as
to the emission of the stamp in question;
but if even only a few hundreds
were used, we are surprised that no
used copies turn up. Were they used
otherwise than for postage? Mr.
Philbrick informs us that no unused
copy of the stamp was ever seen by
him, nor does he know of its existence.
Plenty of proofs on India paper,
etc., exist, but the paper of the stamp
was laid and thin, of a hard texture.

An extract from the Stamp Collectors’
Monthly Gazette, published at St. John,
New Brunswick, in September, 1869,
shows that the rarity of the 12d was already
recognised as witnessed by the
fact that “even $5” could be obtained
for a specimen. We give the paragraph
in full:—

This stamp, as some of our readers
are aware, was in use but a short
time, so short, that many persons
even those residing in Canada, knew
nothing about it. One gentleman living in Quebec, to whom we had written
on the subject some time ago, informed
us that we must have been
laboring under some mistake, when
we asked him for some particulars
about it. He told us that no such
stamp was ever issued; but a subsequent
letter from him told a totally
different tale (as was expected)—he
gave us a few facts, and that was all
we wanted. It was first intended for
postage to England, and was actually
used for a time. The postage was
afterwards reduced and the 10d stamp
took the place of the 12d. The latter
is now (the genuine) one of the rarest
in existence, and very readily obtains
such prices as $4.00 and even $5.00
for one specimen. Proofs are often
offered for sale on India paper, with
the word 'specimen' written on one
side. Amateur collections must content
themselves with this last, for it is
utterly impossible to obtain the real
Simon Pure article for less than the
sums we name, and even then, it is
doubtful whether it can be had at the
price or not. The color of the genuine
stamp is black, it is an adhesive,
and contains a portrait of Queen Victoria
in an inscribed oval, with figures
12 at corners.

All three values of this first set were
issued imperforate and while the 3d, of
which at least three millions were issued,
varies but little in shade, the 6d,
printed in comparatively small quantities,
provides a number of striking
tints. In his check-list, Mr. Howes
gives “black-violet, deep-violet, slate-violet,
brown-violet, dull purple, slate,
black brown, brownish black, and greenish
black”, and we have no doubt the
list could be considerably amplified,
though the above should be sufficient
for the most exacting of specialists.

The catalogue gives two distinct sorts
of paper—laid and wove—for all three
values, with a sub-variety of the latter,
designated “thin”, for the 3d and 6d denominations.
But specialists are not
satisfied with this meagre classification
and recognise numerous other varieties
such as thick white laid, soft white
wove, thin and thick grayish, thick hard,
thick soft, ribbed, etc. Mr. D. A. King,
in his article in the Monthly Journal,
says, “There are fourteen varieties that
we are able to distinguish”, and he gives
a general classification of their characteristics
as follows:—

Series I, II, IV and V.—The texture
of these papers is virtually the
same, and it is indeed often difficult,
particularly in the case of the 6d, to
distinguish between the laid and wove
papers. The lines in the laid paper
are of a most peculiar character, and
cannot, as a rule, be brought fairly
out by holding the stamp between
one's eyes and the light. The best
way to test these two papers is to lay
the stamps, face down, on a black
surface, and let the light strike them
at about an angle of fifteen degrees,
when the laid lines are brought most
plainly into view. It is necessary,
however, to place the specimens so
that the light will strike them parallel
to their length, as the laid lines
run horizontally in the 3d, and vertically
in the 6d and 12d.

Series III.—This is an entirely different
paper to those mentioned above.
The laid lines are most distinct, while
the paper is of a different texture and
color from the regular gray shade.

Series VI.—The paper of this series
is almost as thick as that employed
for series XII. There is a vast difference,
however, in its appearance, as
the paper of series VI. is much harder
than that of series XII. It feels
greasy when rubbed between the
thumb and finger, and the color of the
paper is distinctly different from that
shown by series XII.

Series VII, VIII and IX.—We are
able to divide the thin-ribbed papers
into three varieties, which the description
plainly indicates. They are very
distinct, and can be distinguished
by a moment's inspection without
hesitation.

Series X.—This is a very peculiar
sort of paper, which is quite fragile,
and will not bear much handling. It
is quite as soft as that of series VII.

Series XI.—This paper is also of a
peculiar texture; the surface presents a
sort of hairy appearance, and the quality
is better than Series X, although
not as tough as series XII.

Series XII and XIII.—This paper
presents, even when looking at the
face of the specimens, so entirely different
an appearance to that employed
in any of the other series, that a reference
to the back is hardly necessary.
It is found in two thicknesses,
which have the same appearance, and
seems to have been employed for all
the values except the 12d.

Series XIV.—We are surprised that
this variety has hitherto escaped notice.
It is so distinct, both in paper
and color, from any of the other 6d
stamps. It has only been found in
shades of a peculiarly brownish purple
which is a color entirely different
from that presented by specimens on
any other of the papers employed.
It is an exceedingly rare variety.

It would indeed be a task for the
most intrepid of specialists to try and
complete his Canadian stamps on such
ambitious lines, to say nothing of acquiring
the ingenuity necessary to differentiate
between them. Their philatelic
importance is, in our humble opinion,
not a matter of very great consequence.
At that period, hand-made
paper was still being used to a very
large extent and even machine-made
paper was not manufactured with the
nicety of standardisation that is possible
with the improved machinery of
today. Consequently, the sheets of
paper, even in such a small commercial
quantity as a ream, would generally
show considerable variation in texture.
Thin and thick sheets were frequently
mixed to obtain the necessary weight
per ream specified in any particular
grade of paper. No particular quality
of paper was, apparently, specified for
the manufacture of these stamps, and
so long as it looked much about the
same it is very obvious the printers
made no particular effort to maintain an
exact standard. It is even questionable
that the wove and laid varieties mark
distinct consignments or printings of
the stamps. Indeed, so far as the 12d is
concerned at any rate, both varieties
must have been included in the same
consignment. But, more serious still,
from the point of view of those collectors
who consider the wove and laid
papers should be treated as major varieties,
Mr. King admits that “the lines
in the laid paper are of a most peculiar
character” and that “it is often difficult
to distinguish between the laid and the
wove papers”, while Mr. Howes states,
“It happens sometimes that it is quite
difficult to distinguish the laid paper, a
very careful scrutiny or even the extreme
resort to the benzine cup being
necessary to bring out the watermarked
lines, and perhaps then only in a half
suspicious way.” Writing in the Canada
Stamp Sheet (Vol. IV, page 142),
concerning the 12d value, Mr. John N.
Luff stated, “It is my opinion that both
the wove and laid papers are quite
genuine and I think it is possible that
both varieties might occur though there
was only one lot sent out by the printers.
It does not, of course, follow that
the entire batch was printed on the
same day or that two varieties of paper
may not have been used. The early
printers were not always very particular
about their paper, provided it was
somewhat alike in a general way. Some
collectors claim that laid paper is often
of such nature that the lines do not
show in some parts of the sheet, and I
believe there is evidence to support this
theory.”

It is quite within the bounds of possibility
that the paper generally used
for these stamps was intended to be
what is known as “wove” to the trade,
and that the “laid lines” originated in a
purely accidental manner and are rather
on the order of the “laid paper” varieties
found in connection with the
first 8c and 12c stamps of Sarawak.
In short, it is probable that in some
sheets at any rate the laid lines showed
only in part. At best, therefore, it
would appear that the “wove” is but a
minor variety of the “laid” or vice
versa, and while both varieties, as well
as other varieties easily distinguished,
such as the very thin and very thick,
are of interest to specialists, they
throw no light whatsoever on the history
of the stamps, and do not, from
all the available facts, represent separate
printings, so that their philatelic
importance (aside from comparative
rarity as minor varieties, with its
accompanying variation in monetary
worth) is not of a particularly high
order.

One peculiarity resulting from the
use of papers of such varying quality is
an apparent difference in the size of
stamps of the same denomination. For
instance, the stamps on the thinner
kinds of paper generally measure 22 ×
18 mm., while those on thicker paper
measure 22¾ × 17½ mm. and papers of
other thicknesses provide still other
measurements. These differences in size
(fairly considerable in relation to the
comparatively small area of a postage
stamp) proved very puzzling to collectors
of twenty years or so ago for,
though it was felt that the stamps came
from the same plates, it was at the
same time found impossible to account
for such varieties, except on the hypothesis
that all the impressions of the
plate were not all applied alike or that the
hardening of the plates before printing
resulted in contraction in parts with a
consequent variation in the size of different
impressions. The same sorts of
varieties have been noticed in many
other stamps printed by the line engraved
process, notably in such stamps
as the “pence” Ceylons, and proper investigation
finally proved beyond a
shadow of doubt that these differences
in size were due to nothing more than
uneven contraction of the paper after
printing. It must be understood that
in printing stamps by the line-engraved
method the paper usually has to be
slightly wetted (this was an invariable
rule at the time these early Canada
stamps were printed) and it can be
easily seen that the wetting would have
quite different results on different qualities
of paper. Some would be more absorbent
than others and would stretch
while damp and contract again when
drying. The amount of wetting administered
would, also, result in differences
even in the same qualify of paper.
These variations in the size of the design,
therefore, while interesting in
themselves as examples of paper vagaries,
are of little, if any, philatelic
importance.

Bi-sected stamps were not used in
Canada to anything like the same extent
that similar varieties were used in the
other British North American provinces.
The 6d is catalogued as having been
divided diagonally and the halves used
as 3d stamps, though there can have
been no real necessity for such bi-section.
A bi-sected stamp of quite another
character was mentioned in the
Monthly Journal for April, 1898, as follows:—

The Post Office describes a so-called
“split provisional” of the early
3d stamp, which is described as consisting
of one and a half of the unperforated
3d on wove, upon an entire
envelope postmarked “Port Hope,
July 16th, 1855, Canada, Paid 10c.”
Our contemporary does not appear to
perceive that the postmark plainly indicates
that the supposed half stamp
is really only a badly cut copy; the 3d
of Canada passed for 5 cents, and as
this letter is plainly marked “Paid
10c”, the stamps upon it evidently
passed as two 3d, not as one and a
half, which would have corresponded
to no rate of postage.

The same journal, two months later,
made more extended reference to this
variety and while its bona-fides as a
“split” is established its use as a half
stamp is as much a mystery as ever.
We cannot do better than give the
paragraph in full:—

In the New Issues column of our
number for April, we called in question
the character of a supposed
“split” three pence stamp of Canada,
which had been chronicled in the
Post Office, New York. In reply to
our criticism, Messrs. Morgenthau &
Co., the publishers of that magazine,
have most kindly forwarded to us the
letter bearing the divided stamp, and
have requested our opinion upon it.
The specimen is such a curious one
and presents, we think, such a puzzle
for philatelists, that we have taken
the liberty—which we hope its owner
will pardon—of having a photographic
block made from it, and we give a
full size illustration, showing both the
stamps and the postmarks, herewith.
As our readers may perceive, we were
quite wrong in suggesting that the
“split” stamp was merely a badly cut
copy, as it appears to have been carefully
bi-sected diagonally and to have
been intended to pass as a half stamp,
making up, with the entire stamp to
which it is attached, a rate of 4½d.
If this were all, though the specimen
would be a great rarity—indeed, we
believe it to be unique—it would not
be necessarily a great puzzle to us.
It is true that we do not know of any
4½d rate in Canada, and there never
was a 4½d stamp in use there; but
still, such a rate might have existed,
although there was no possible means
of making it up except by the use of
at least three ½d stamps; but the
puzzling part about this letter is that
it is addressed from Port Hope in
Canada to New York, the single rate
from Canada to the United States
was 10 cents; the letter is marked
“CANADA—PAID 10 Cts.” by the side
of the stamps, and that rate was sixpence
in Canadian currency. The
whole document appears to us to be
perfectly genuine and bona-fide; we
have examined it with a skeptical
mind and a powerful magnifying
glass, and we can only say that if it
is a “fake” it is wonderfully well
done. On the other hand, if it is
genuine, the half stamp must have
done duty as a whole one, because it
certainly took two 3d stamps to make
up the 10 cents rate. The puzzle
remains a puzzle to us, but we are
grateful to Messrs. Morgenthau for
their courteous reply to what may
have appeared a captious criticism.

Chapter IV. The Second Issue.

The third report of the Postmaster-General
for Canada, dated March 31st,
1854, refers to a change in the rates of
postage on single letters sent abroad and
also mentions the possibility of additions
to the meagre set of three values
then current, viz.:—

In March, 1854, the charge on
packet letters between Canada and the
United Kingdom and most foreign
countries was reduced by the Imperial
Government from 1s 2d sterling
to 8d sterling the ½ oz., when sent
in the closed mails through the
United States, and from 1s sterling to
6d when sent from a provincial port—Quebec
and Halifax. Should no further
changes be likely soon to take
place in the charges on the correspondence
with England, it would
promote the public convenience to procure
postage stamps of the value of
10d and 7½d respectively, to correspond
with the present packet charges.

In the Postmaster-General's fourth
annual report, issued in the following
year, the above recommendation was
adopted so far as the 10d value was concerned,
for we read:—

To promote the general convenience
of the public in prepaying letters to
the United Kingdom at the new rate,
postage stamps of the value of 10d
currency, equal to 8d sterling, were
procured, and issued to the public.

According to documentary evidence
unearthed by Messrs. King and Howes
the plate for this value was made, and
the first stamps were printed from it
during the last quarter of 1854, for in
the Post Office accounts for that period
the item, “Rawdon, Wright & Co.,
Making Stamps, £42-18-6,” appears.
According to another list compiled from
official sources the stamps did not reach
Canada until January 2nd, 1855, and
though we know of no official document
bearing on the actual date of issue, or
of any very early dated cover, in view
of the fact that the stamps represented
a denomination for which there was an
urgent demand, it is only reasonable to
suppose that this 10d value was placed
on sale some time during the month
of January, 1855.

Mr. King states that this value was
printed in sheets of 100 stamps, arranged
in ten horizontal rows of ten,
and with the manufacturers' imprint
shown eight times on the margins, as
in the case of the three stamps previously
issued. Mr. Howes, however,
is of the opinion that these 10d stamps
were printed in sheets of 120, 10 rows of
twelve each, like the 7½d value issued
later, and in support of his theory
points out that the quantities delivered
in the first supply (100,080) and second
supply (72,120) are exactly divisible by
120 into 834 and 601 full sheets respectively,
whereas neither of these
numbers is divisible by 100 into an even
number of complete sheets. In view of
the absence of positive evidence in the
shape of an entire sheet or full horizontal
row of stamps, it must be admitted
that there is much to be said
in favor of Mr. Howes' theory. It will
be noted the stamps have the values expressed
in English currency, and the
almost universal rule for stamps printed
with values in shillings or pence, has
been sheets of 60, 120, or 240 owing to
the fact that with such an arrangement
reckoning in this currency is greatly
simplified.

The design corresponds in its general
appearance to the 6d and 12d of 1851
though the portrait in the central oval
is of Jacques Cartier, the discoverer
of Canada. In the 'eighties there was
some little discussion regarding the
portrait on this 10d stamp some claiming
it was not intended to represent
Cartier, but Sebastian Cabot. A writer
on the Halifax Philatelist for 1888
says: “It is identically the same as all
the existing portraits of Jacques
Cartier, and totally unlike those existing
of Sebastian Cabot. The style of
dress and the way the beard is worn
is that of the sixteenth century, instead
of the fifteenth. There is a very rare
and old print of Sebastian Cabot,
taken from the original painting in the
possession of Charles Jost Harford,
Esq., in the Legislative Library at
Halifax, and anything more dissimilar
to the face on the 10 pence stamp cannot
be imagined.” The official notice
announcing the issue of the stamp, to
which we have already referred, makes
no mention of the design at all but the
portrait is undoubtedly that of Cartier
and Mr. Howes tells us that the original
is a “three-quarter length portrait
in the Hotel de Ville at St. Malo,
France, the birthplace of Cartier.”

Jacques Cartier was born at St.
Malo, as stated above, in 1491. In
1534 he sailed with two small vessels
on a voyage of discovery, touching at
Newfoundland, and discovering New
Brunswick. In a second voyage (1535-6)
he explored the St. Lawrence, and
took possession of the land he discovered
in the name of Francis I of France. He
made a third voyage in 1541 and died
in 1557.

The words CANADA POSTAGE and
TENPENCE on the inscribed oval
frame are separated by a small beaver
at the right and three maple leaves at
the left. In the lower corners are the
numerals “10” followed by “cy” for currency,
while in each of the upper angles
is “8d stg”, representing the equivalent
value in sterling.

Only the two supplies of this value,
mentioned previously, were printed
making a total of 172,200 stamps. When
the decimal currency was introduced
there was a balance on hand of 31,200,
which were afterwards destroyed so
that the total quantity of 10d stamps
issued was 141,000.

A double-transfer variety of this denomination
is described by Mr. Howes
as follows:—

In this case we find the letters A D
A and S of “Canada Postage”, and P
E N of “Pence”' showing a distinct
doubling at the bottom, the transfer
roller having been set a little too high
at first and a very slight impression
made on the plate. The stamp has
not been seen in a pair to prove its
character absolutely, but it bears all
the ear-marks of being a proper plate
variety and not due to a careless impression
when printing.

The Postmaster General's report dated
Sept. 30th, 1857, refers to the many
benefits accruing to both the Department
and the public by the increased use of
postage stamps in the prepayment of
postal charges and also mentions the
issue of two new denominations, viz:—

There is a very material economy
of labor to the Department in dealing
with letters prepaid by stamp as compared
with letters on which the postage
is collected in money, as well as a
manifest gain to the public, in the increased
facilities which prepayment
by stamp enables the Post Office to
afford for posting and delivering letters
so prepaid.

It is gratifying, therefore, to observe
that the use of stamps is gradually
gaining ground, encouraging as it does
the hope that it may be found practicable
and expedient ere long to
make prepayment by stamp the prevailing
rule in Canada, as it has for
sometime been in, the United Kingdom,
in France, and in the United States.

A reduction in the charge of Book
Post Packets when not exceeding 4 oz.
in weight, between Canada and the
United Kingdom of one-half the former
rate has been made.

To facilitate the prepayment of letters
passing from Canada to England
by the Canadian steamers, a new
stamp bearing value of 6 pence sterling,
or 7½ pence currency, being the
Canadian Packet rate, has been secured
and put in circulation.

A new stamp has also been introduced
of the value of one halfpenny
to serve as the medium for prepaying
transient Newspapers.

Moreover, the Department has been
led, by the increasing use of Postage
Stamps, to take measures for obtaining
the Canadian Postage Stamps in
sheets perforated in the dividing lines,
in the manner adopted in England, to
facilitate the separation of a single
stamp from the others on a sheet when
required for use.

It will thus be seen that the 7½d
value, which was recommended three
years earlier (at the time the 10d was
issued), materialised at last, though
there appears to be no official record
bearing on the date the new value was
placed on sale to the public. The volume
dealing with the postage stamps of
British North America, published by the
Royal Philatelic Society some twenty
years ago, gives the date of issue as
June 2nd, 1857, though no authority for
this statement is given.

The design was adapted from that of
the discarded 12d of 1851, the same portrait
of Queen Victoria adorning the
central oval. The inscribed band around
this contains the words CANADA
PACKET POSTAGE at the top, and
SIX PENCE STERLING at the bottom,
the two inscriptions occupying so much
space that there was no room for dividing
ornaments of any kind. In the
upper and lower left hand corners is “6d
stg.” and in the right hand corners
“7½d cy.” is shown. A word of explanation
regarding the use of the word
PACKET in the inscription is necessary.
This does not refer to any parcel
post (indeed, there was no parcel post
at that period) as has sometimes been
erroneously asserted, but refers to the
fast mail steamers of the day which were
then known as “packets”. This denomination,
as shown by the extract from the
Postmaster-General's report printed
above, was intended for use on single
letters sent to England via the Canadian
packets.

This 7½d stamp was, according to Mr.
Howes, printed in sheets of 120 arranged
in ten horizontal rows of twelve each,
each sheet showing the imprint of the
manufacturers eight times on the margins
as in the case of the values issued previous
to 1857. Only one consignment,
consisting of 834 sheets (100,800 stamps)
was received, and as 17,670 of these were
still on hand when the decimal currency
was introduced in 1859, a simple calculation
will show that the total quantity
issued was 82,410 stamps.

Although there had been a real need
for a halfpenny value since the first adhesives
made their appearance in Canada—as
shown by several rates it was impossible
to prepay in stamps without them—it
was not until 1857 that a stamp of this
denomination was placed in use. The
following circular announced their impending
issue:—

Postage on Newspapers and Periodicals.
Post Office Department.

Toronto. 18th July, 1857.

Under the Post Office Law of last
Session taking effect from 1st August,
1857, Newspapers printed and published
in Canada, and mailed direct
from Office of Publication, will pass
free of Canadian Postage.

Periodicals so printed, published,
and mailed when specially devoted to
Religious and to General Education, to
Agriculture, or Temperance, or to any
branch of Science, will pass free from
any one Post-Office to another within
the Province.

Transient and re-mailed Papers
and Periodicals will pass by Post if
prepaid by Postage stamp—one halfpenny
if not exceeding 3 oz. in weight,
and 2d if over 3 oz.

Postage Stamps of the value of one
halfpenny each will be sold to the
public at all the principal Post Offices
(including all Money Order Offices),
with a discount of 5 per cent. upon
purchases of not less than twenty
stamps and will be available in prepayment
of Newspapers and Periodicals,
and of Drop and Town Letters.

R. Spence, Postmaster-General.

The Royal Philatelic Society's book
gives the date of the above notice—July
18th, 1857—as the date of issue of
the new stamp but, as Mr. Howes observes
“it is more likely that the stamp
was issued on 1st August, the day the
new rates took effect.”

Although this stamp is generally conceded
to be the last of the “pence”
values to be issued, until more definite
information regarding the date of issue
of the 7½d can be procured, this supposition
can rest on no more substantial
basis than that of mere conjecture.

The design is quite unlike that of any
of the other values expressed in pence
and consists of the conventional profile
portrait of the Queen shown on so many
of the stamps of the British Empire,
within an oval band inscribed CANADA
POSTAGE, at the top, and ONE HALF
PENNY, at the bottom. There are no
numerals or inscriptions in the corners
but merely a plain pattern of diagonally
crossed lines. Mr. Howes states “the
stamp was printed in sheets of 100, ten
rows of ten, with the right marginal
imprints as described for the series of
1851.”

From the Postmaster-General's report
we gather that 1,341,600 halfpenny
stamps were received prior to October
1st, 1857, though whether these were all
in one consignment or not is not quite
clear. At any rate judging from the
statement in the same report that “the
Department has been led to take measures
for obtaining ... sheets perforated”
it would appear that the above
quantity comprised all the imperforate
stamps of this denomination. On the
other hand the total number of halfpenny
stamps issued was 3,389,960 and
catalogue quotations for the imperforate
and the perforated varieties hardly bear
out the supposition that only the first lot
were issued without perforation.

While the 10d value is found on several
sorts of paper no such extreme variation
is provided as in the case of the
stamps of 1851. The 7½d and ½d
values, printed at a later date, provide
still fewer varieties, which would seem
to indicate that as time progressed the
manufacturers exercised a nicer discrimination
in their choice of paper.
Most of the stamps seem to have been
printed on a hard wove paper, varying
a little in thickness; the 10d is found on a
very thin paper; and the ½d is recorded
on ribbed paper, though whether this is
a true “ribbed” variety or merely the
result of some peculiarity in printing
is open to discussion. As the ribbed
lines are anything but distinct, though
the paper showing this peculiarity is a
little softer than that generally used,
it is more than likely that the ribbing
was purely accidental.

Owing to the differing qualities of
paper used the same idiosyncrasies of
measurement in the size of the designs
may be noted, especially in the case of
the 10d as was referred to in a previous
chapter. But as all variations of this
character in stamps printed from line-engraved
plates were long ago conclusively
proved to be due to nothing
more exciting than paper shrinkage it
is hardly worth while wearying our
readers with a resurrection of all that
has been written on the subject leading
up to the proof. While examples showing
the extremes of size are of interest
in a specialised collection little can be
said in favor of their philatelic value.

Chapter V. The Perforated Pence Stamps.

In the Report of the Postmaster-General
for September 30th, 1857, to
which we have already made reference,
we read:—

Moreover, the Department has been
led, by the increasing use of Postage
Stamps, to take measures for obtaining
the Canadian Postage Stamps in
sheets perforated in the dividing lines,
in the manner adopted in England,
to facilitate the separation of a single
stamp from the others on a sheet
when required for use.

From the above statement, one would
naturally infer that such a useful innovation
would be adopted at once,
especially so when it is considered that
the utility and convenience of perforation
had already been amply tested and
had proved eminently satisfactory in
England. Unfortunately, no further mention
of perforation is made in the Reports
of succeeding years, and this absence
of direct official evidence combined
with the existence of certain
facts has given rise to much theorising
as to the actual date of issue of the
perforated varieties, and as to whether
the perforation was applied by the manufacturers
of the stamps, by the Canadian
Government, or by private parties
in Canada.

Mr. Donald A. King in his article in
the Monthly Journal says:—

It is an open question whether these
stamps were delivered to the Canadian
Post Office Department in a perforated
condition or not. The manufacturers
are wholly unable to throw
any light on the subject; and while
there is much to be said in favor of
their having perforated the stamps,
there are points against it almost as
strong.

In favor of it there is the fact that,
at the date that these stamps were
issued, it was more than probable
that a firm like the manufacturers
would have perforating machines.
The normal gauge of the perforated
set is 12, that being the only size ever
used by the manufacturers, or their
successors, the American Bank Note
Company; indeed, they call 12 their
standard and only gauge.

On the other hand, we find that
there are perforated stamps of the
first series issued, viz., the 6d on
laid paper; also, that there exist two
different varieties of perforation that
were never used by the makers, viz.,
one gauging 14, and another that is
described in the American Journal of
Philately for January, 1891, as follows:—

“CANADA.—In a large lot of
pence issues, purchased by us lately,
we have found two copies of the 3d.
on greyish wove paper, perforated 13,
with oblique parallel cuts. This seems
to confirm the theory that the pence
issues of Canada were not perforated
by the manufacturers, but either by
the Canadian Government, or by some
persons authorized by them, who most
likely experimented with different
perforating machines, finally selecting
the one perforating 12.”

Considering these facts, it may be
that the stamps were sent to Canada
in an imperforate condition, and that
the Post Office Department had them
perforated there, either buying a perforating
machine, or entrusting them
to some manufacturers of stationery.
Perforations gauging 13 and 14 may
have been experimental, as specimens
of these varieties are rare; perforation
12 being adopted as giving the
best results, the other sizes not being
at all clearly cut, as the 12 generally
is. All the stock of ½d, 3d and 6d
on hand would, in this case, have
been perforated, which might account
for the copy of the 6d on laid paper
that is known in this condition. There
always remains the query why the
7½d and 10d were not treated in the
same manner, and to this no answer
can be given. Probably the safest
theory to advance, and the one that I
think is correct, is that the 12 gauge
was the official one used by the manufacturers,
and that the 13 and 14 were
the result of private enterprise by
people using large quantities of
stamps, and they may possibly antedate
the regularly perforated issue.
This point can only be settled by
copies being found on the original
covers.

In commenting on the above it will
save undue confusion if we state that
the copy of the perforated 6d on laid
paper to which Mr. King refers was
proved to be a forgery as shown by the
following extract from the American
Journal of Philately for 1891:—

There is no longer any mystery in
regard to the origin of that great
rarity! the perforated 6 pence on laid
paper, these stamps having been perforated
for four or five years in the
shop of Messrs. Benjamin, Sarpy &
Co., Cullum street, London, who
openly boast of having manufactured
and sold those in the collection of the
late Hon. T. K. Tapling and other
prominent collectors.

With regard to the varieties perforated
13 and 14—while these are undoubtedly
rare, all the evidence strongly
points to the fact that they are unofficial
varieties, a statement, we believe, which
has never been seriously combated by
students of the early Canadian stamps.

Thus, most of the “contrary” evidence
adduced by Mr. King carries no weight
with it at all. The most interesting
point he raises is the fact that, though
the 7½d and 10d denominations were
current at the same time as the ½d, 3d
and 6d, these values were not perforated.
So far as the 10d is concerned this
seems all the more strange when it is
considered that one supply of this value
was certainly printed after September,
1857, the date of the Report mentioning
the adoption of perforation.

Mr. Howes has made diligent search
through official records and carefully
scanned itemised reports of more or less
petty expenditures, and he was unable
to find any reference whatsoever to a
disbursement such as would have been
necessary had the Government purchased
a perforating machine or had
the stamps perforated by some private
concern. It is, therefore, unquestionable
that the natural course—i.e., that
the manufacturers should perforate the
stamps—was the one followed.

The real root cause of all the problems
surrounding these perforated
stamps seems to lie in the general acceptance
of the assumption that they
were issued in 1857 or early in 1858—an
assumption that appears to be entirely
devoid of the support of tangible
facts when the matter is scrutinised
thoroughly. Mr. Howes has delved
into the subject with his usual thoroughness
and his deductions are so well
founded that we imagine no unbiased
student will venture to do other than
agree that his findings are fully borne
out by the history of the stamps so far
as we know it. We, therefore, make
no apology for reproducing his arguments
in full:—

The date usually assigned to the
appearance of the perforated stamps
is January, 1858. The London Society
gave simply “1857,” which is
apparently set down merely because
they have just quoted the announcement
from the Postmaster General's
Report for that year. Evans and
Moens, in their catalogues, both name
the date as November, 1858. Unfortunately,
no more authoritative statement has been found, except that in
Messrs. Corwin and King's article
they say “Mr. Hooper positively states
that it took place in January, 1858.”
Mr. John R. Hooper was at that time
(1890) connected with the Canadian
Post Office Department at Ottawa and
took pains to look up much information
for the above-mentioned gentlemen.
His reasons for the “positive
statement” are not given, and inasmuch
as he is quoted elsewhere as
saying that “the records of the Post
Office Department are silent as to
where this perforation was performed
and by whom,” and also seems a little
uncertain in some other details, we
feel that further confirmation is
needed.

In our table above we have given
the supplies received after the 30th
September, 1857, and deducted the remainders
so as to have the actual
number issued. The 10d has already
proved a stumbling block, for it was
not perforated at all! Next we find
the 6d to the number of 150,000, when
the total issue, including the laid
paper, was but 400,000; yet the catalogue
value of the imperforates is
some $6 for each variety, and of the
perforated stamp at least $30! Can
anyone doubt that all these 150,000
6d stamps were not perforated? In
the case of the 3d we have one and a
third millions to compare with a total
issue of three and a half millions—about
a third in the supposed perforated
class. Yet the catalogue
value of the latter is $2.50 against
36 cents for the wove paper imperforate
alone. With the ½d stamp
there are two millions against a total
of three and a third millions, or about
two to one in favor of the supposed
perforated stamps, yet the latter are
double the catalogue price of the
former! The only conclusion to be
drawn from these regularly appearing
inconsistencies in each value is that
all the supplies after 30th September,
1857, were not perforated, as the 10d
stamp very glaringly intimates!

If this be so, is it not possible that
the order to perforate the new supplies
was given to the manufacturers
much later than has hitherto been
thought to be the case? It hardly
seems likely that this improvement
would be ordered for a few supplies
and then dropped, only to re-appear
a year and a half later as a permanent
feature of the new set. Once
adopted it was more than likely to be
retained.

Let us see, then, just for curiosity's
sake, what the supplies of the last six
months of issue yield us for data.
For the ½d we find 850,000 roughly,
with 60,000 remainders. Call it
800,000 issued which, if perforated,
would be a quarter of the total issue
of ½d stamps, or a ratio to the imperforates
of one to three. This is
not so far away from the catalogue
ratio of two to one (inversely, of
course,) in the value of the perforated
stamps. With the 3d stamp
we have 450,000 roughly, with 20,000
remainders, say 430,000 issued. Of a
total issue of 3,500,000 this represents
one-eighth, or a ratio of one to seven.
The inverse ratio of seven to one for
catalogue value comes pretty close
when we compare $2.50 with 36 cents!
In the case of the 6d there are 70,000,
less 17,500 remainders, or 52,500. This
is approximately one-eighth the total
issue of 400,000, or again a ratio of one
in seven. The inverse ratio of seven
to one for a catalogue value would
make the perforated stamp list $42
with the imperforate at $6. But both
laid and wove paper 6d stamps list
at approximately $6, whereas, if all
had been issued on but one variety of
paper, we might find, perhaps, a single
list price of, say $4. With this as a
basis, the catalogue value of $30 for
the perforated 6d is in as close agreement
with our supposition as are the
others. And, best of all, the second
supply of the 10d stamp is disposed
of without any difficulty whatever under
this hypothesis!

It may be argued that reasoning
thus from catalogue prices is too uncertain
to prove of value. Granted in
many cases. But here is an issue
from fifty to sixty years old; the
stamps were regularly used in increasing
numbers during their years
of issue; they have always been popular
and eagerly collected, so that the
stock in existence has been pretty well
handled and pretty well distributed.
Under these conditions the catalogue
prices should by this time reflect fairly
accurately the relative rarity of the
main varieties of each stamp at least;
and it is this relative rarity that we
are after in order to approximate the
original supplies of the main varieties.
The result is certainly of more than
mere interest, the agreement being
such that we are tempted to lay down
the following propositions in regard
to the perforated stamps for further
proof or disproof:—

First. The regular perforation
(gauge 12) was done by the manufacturers
and applied to the last requisitions
previous to the change to decimal
stamps.

Second. The date of the supposed
issue of the perforated stamps should
be changed from January, 1858, to
November, 1858, or January, 1859.

Third. The quantities of perforated
stamps issued are placed approximately
at:—½d, 789,440; 3d,
428,200; 6d. 52,422. In further support
of the above postulates, we must say
that every cover bearing any one of the
three perforated stamps which we
have been able to get a satisfactory
date from has been postmarked in
1859! Not one has yet been seen which
bore a date in 1858 even, and one 6d
from the Seybold collection, which
was dated at Brantford, December 29,
1857, turned out to be bad. Of course,
perforated stamps are hard to find on
original covers, but it is curious that
so far not one has upset the theory
we have laid down.

These three perforated stamps do not
provide much variation in the quality
of the paper. Most of the stamps are
found on a hard wove paper, varying
slightly in thickness, and though the ½d
and 3d are listed on ribbed paper, we
venture to doubt that this is a true
ribbed paper for the reasons set forth
in our last chapter.

Mr. King records the 6d bi-sected diagonally
and the halves used as 3d
stamps, but, as in the case of the similar
variety in the imperforate issues,
there could have been no real need for
such bi-section.

Chapter VI. The First “Cents” Issue.

While the somewhat cumbrous English
currency of pounds, shillings and
pence has presented little or no difficulty
in those parts of the Empire where it
has always been on the same basis as in
the Mother country, the fact that in
Canada it had two valuations—“currency”
and “sterling”—made it an inevitable
conclusion that a change would have to
be made sooner or later. The close
proximity of Canada to the United
States gave it a very practical illustration
of the advantages of a decimal system
of money; the American currency
of dollars and cents was legalised in the
Province of Canada in 1853; and it is,
therefore, small matter for wonder that
ultimately a decimal system of currency
similar to that in vogue in the United
States was adopted. This change took
place in 1859 and the Postmaster-General's
Report for that year alluded to
the necessary changes in the postage
stamps as follows:

The Law of last Session directing
the conversion of all postage rates into
decimals, and the collection of
postage in the new decimal currency,
was put in operation on the 1st July.
Decimal stamps of the value of 1 cent,
5 cents, and 10 cents for ordinary
correspondence, and of 12½ cents for
Canadian, and of 17 cents for British
Packet Postage Rates were obtained
in readiness for the commencement of
the Decimal Postage Law in July,
1859, and have from that date been
issued in lieu of the stamps previously
in use.

The Law referred to on the above
mentioned Report was assented to on
May 4th, 1859, and as some of the provisions
are of philatelic interest we reproduce
them as follows:—

1.—There shall be payable on all
Newspapers sent by Post in Canada,
except “Exchange Papers” addressed
to Editors and Publishers of Newspapers,
such rate of Postage, not exceeding
one cent on each such Newspaper,
as the Governor in Council shall
from time to time direct by regulation
and such rate shall be payable on all
such Newspapers, posted on or after
the first day of July next.

2.—So much of any Act as provides
that Newspapers posted within this
Province shall pass free of postage, in
cases other than those in which they
will be free under this Act is hereby
repealed.

3.—In order to adapt the operations
of the Post Office to the Decimal Currency,
the internal letter postage rate
shall be changed from three pence to
its equivalent of five cents, per half
ounce—the charge for advertising a
dead letter from three farthings to
two cents—the charge for returning a
dead letter to the writer, from one
penny to three cents; and in all cases
where a one halfpenny or penny rate
of Postage is chargeable, these rates
shall be changed to one cent and two
cents respectively.

4.—To promote simplicity and
economy in the business of the Post
Office, all letters posted in Canada
for any place within the Province,
and not prepaid, shall be charged
seven instead of five cents per half
ounce on delivery; and on letters
posted for the British Mails, for the
other British North American Provinces,
or for the United States, when
not prepaid, there shall be charged
such addition to the ordinary rate,
not in any case exceeding a double
rate, as the Post Master General may
agree upon with the Post Office
Authorities of those Countries, for
the purpose of enforcing prepayment.

5.—The Post Master General may
establish a Parcel Post and parcels
other than letters and not containing
letters, may be sent by such Parcel
Post, and when so sent shall be liable
to such charges for conveyance and
to such regulations as the Governor
in Council shall from time to time see
fit to make.

It will be noted that the above Act,
aside from showing the rates in the
new currency as compared with the old,
provides for a greater limitation of the
privilege of free transmission of newspapers,
and also provides for the establishment
of a Parcel Post.

No further reference seems to have
been made to the parcel post until the
Postmaster-General's Report for June
30th, 1864, where it is stated:—

By means of the Parcel Post a parcel
may be sent within the Province
to or from any place, however remote
from the ordinary lines of traffic conveyance,
on prepayment of a postage
rate of 25 cents per lb., provided that
the weight or size of the parcel does
not exceed the carrying capacity of an
ordinary mail bag; and provided that
the contents of the parcel are not of a
character to injure the rest of the
mail.

Later the parcel post system was extended
so that it embraced the sister
Provinces of New Brunswick and Nova
Scotia, the rate remaining at 25c per lb.
Apparently the weight and size of a
parcel acceptable by the postal authorities
still remained delightfully vague
and indefinite and was simply limited by
“the carrying capacity of an ordinary
mail bag.”

As we have seen from the Postmaster-General's
Report for 1859 the first
“cents” stamps were placed in use on
July 1st of that year. The series comprised
the values 1c, 5c, 10c, 12½c and
17c these corresponding to the ½d, 3d,
6d, 7½d and 10d denominations previously
in use. The designs of the new
stamps were adapted from those of the
corresponding values of the old issue as
a comparison of the two series will
amply demonstrate. The 1c differs from
the ½d only in the words denoting the
value below the portrait. The 5c differs
from the 3d not only as regards the new
inscription of value but has small ornaments
on the oval band dividing CANADA
POSTAGE from FIVE CENTS.
In the corners the numerals “5,” replacing
“3,” are placed in an oblique position
on a ground of crossed lines. The 10c
differs from the 6d in having the corner
numerals (represented by the Roman
“X”) placed obliquely on a cross hatched
ground instead of upright on a ground
of foliate ornamentation, while TEN
CENTS replaces SIX PENCE under
the portrait. The 12½c differs from the
7½d only as regards the corners where
“12½c” replaces the former values of “6d.
stg” and “7½d cy”. On the new 17c the
words of value required so much more
room than the TEN PENCE on the old
denomination that the emblems between
the upper and lower inscriptions on the[Pg 26]
oval were retired in favor of small elliptical
ornaments. The upper corners
were unaltered but in the lower ones
“10cy” was removed and “17” substituted.

It is obvious that the original dies
were made use of in each case, the central
portions being retained and new
orders engraved.

The stamps were manufactured by the
American Bank Note Company, of New
York, which firm had succeeded to the
business established by Messrs. Rawdon,
Wright, Hatch and Edson. The new
firm name came into effect on May 1st,
1858.

The stamps were printed in sheets of
100 by the line-engraved process the
manufacturers' imprint, “American Bank
Note Co., New York” appearing twice
in each margin in very small letters.
For some reason or other no imprint
was applied to the plate for the 17c
value.

In the Law relating to the adoption
of decimal currency, reproduced above,
we read in section 3 that “in all cases
where a one-half penny or penny rate
of Postage is chargeable, these rates
shall be changed to one cent and two
cents respectively.” Yet, though a 1c
stamp was included in the series in 1859
no 2c made its appearance until 1864.
This new value was issued on August
1st, 1864, according to the Postmaster-General's
Report for that year while the
Report for the following year states that
“A provision has been made for the
transmission and delivery of Canadian
periodicals, addressed to the United
Kingdom, at the reduced rate of two
cents each” and it is probably due to
the increased demand for the 2c denomination
under this new rate that the
stamp made its appearance.

The design was evidently copied from
the 1c though the addition of numerals
in each of the lower corners gives it
a strikingly different appearance from
that of the lower value. Curiously
enough the 2c was printed in almost the
same color as the 1c and in commenting
on this fact the Stamp Collectors' Magazine
for October 1st, 1864, stated:—

We are surprised that a different
hue was not chosen for the 2 cents,
and should imagine its great similarity
to the 1 cent, should the latter not be
withdrawn from circulation, would
tend to create confusion.

This new denomination was printed
in sheets of 100 like the others of the
series, and also had eight imprints in
the margins.

A close study of these stamps should
reveal many points of interest. For
many years a double transfer of the 5c,
of a similar character to that found on
its predecessor the 3d has been known.
This is recorded in Scott's catalogue as
a “double transfer” while Gibbons notes
it as a variety “with extra line in outer
oval at left”. This variety, which is
simply the most prominent of many
double transfers found in connection
with this 5c stamp, shows the outer line
of the oval at left distinctly doubled,
and the frame lines above are also
double. Other varieties which, though
not so prominent, are of equal philatelic
importance are found. We have seen
the following and have no doubt many
others exist:—

There are distinct traces of
doubling in the letters ADA and POST
of CANADA POSTAGE, in the numerals
in the upper angles, and of the lines
of the oval band.

There is a faint doubling of the
outer frame lines at the top right hand
corner.

There is a similar doubling of the
outer frame lines affecting the lower
right hand corner.

The lines of the oval band are
faintly doubled at the lower left.

The letters POST of POSTAGE,
the “5” above, and the lines of oval and
frame all show distinct signs of double
transferring.

This double transfer affects the
lines, numeral, and letters NADA of
CANADA at the upper left corner and
while not so distinct as No. 5 is nevertheless
a true plate variety.

We have found no traces of double
transfers in the other denominations except
a slight one on the 12½c. This
shows a slight doubling of the frame
lines in the top left corner, as well as
traces of colored lines in the adjacent
“12½c”. It is quite probable that any
collector having sufficient material
would find “doubles” in all of these
values.

In laying down the impressions on
the plate or plates for the 5c value a
guide dot was applied to the transfer
roll. This occupied such a position that
as each succeeding impression was applied
to the plate it fell so that the guide
dot would fall about the centre of the
C of CENTS. Consequently, the vast
majority of these stamps show a conspicuous
dot of color in the position indicated.
The stamps without the colored
dot are, usually, those from the extreme
left vertical row of the sheet. On this
same value—the 5c—we have seen specimens
with colored dots outside and
slightly to the left of the lower left corner.
These are possibly plate dots
marked to indicate where each row
should commence. Varieties with broken
frame lines are not uncommon and
these may be due in part to defective
transfers and in part to wear. Extreme
wear is also shown, in some instances,
by the numerals appearing on an almost
plain ground.

Whether guide dots were used for the
other denominations or not we cannot
say. At any rate if they were used they
were applied in such a position as to be
completely hidden by some part or
other of the designs. A small peculiarity
in the 10c is worth noting. On the
majority of specimens there is a slight
defect or break in the outer line of the
oval band above and to the right of the
O of POSTAGE. This is probably due
to a minute defect on the transfer-roll
impression. Many specimens of the
12½c value show the tongue of the E
of POSTAGE the same length as the
upper and lower arms though the end
is generally covered with a colored
smudge. We are at a loss to account
for the cause of this variety but that it
is a “constant” one we have satisfied
ourselves by the examination of a number
of identical specimens. The 17c
also exhibits a small peculiarity of engraving.
A colored line projects upwards
into the uncolored oval band
above the space between OS of POSTAGE.
This was evidently caused by an
accidental touch of the engraver's tool
on the die for it is quite distinct on
every specimen we have examined.

The paper upon which the stamps of
this series were printed does not provide
so much variation as that of the
earlier emissions. Mr. D. A. King in
his article in the Monthly Journal says:

The papers upon which these stamps
are printed may be divided into five
classes:

—Ordinary, coarse, white wove
paper.

—Similar paper, of a yellowish
tint, and slightly ribbed.

—A hard greyish paper, very
slightly ribbed.

—White wove paper, very slightly
ribbed.

—A white paper, very hard and
closely ribbed.

In addition we are told that all the
above varieties come in at least two
thicknesses. Scott's catalogue is content
with a classification of “wove”
paper with a sub-variety of “ribbed” for
the 1c and 5c denominations. Mr.
Howes extends the “ribbed” variety to
all values but, as we have pointed out in
earlier chapters, it is extremely unlikely
that any such variety as a real ribbed
paper was used, the ribbed lines being
simply due to some idiosyncrasy of
manufacture. To again quote Mr. King:

The best way to distinguish this
paper from the others that have the
appearance of ribbing, is to hold the
stamp before a strong light, when the
ribbing will appear like fine horizontal
laid lines on the 5c, and vertical laid
lines in the other values. Looking
through the paper is the only sure test,
as many of the stamps on the other
papers have the appearance of being
ribbed.

To differentiate between stamps on
ribbed paper and those having the “appearance”
of being ribbed is surely getting
very close to the ridiculous.

With the exception of the 10c the
stamps of this issue provide but little
variation in shade but the 10c more than
makes up for this lack in the others for
it exists in almost every conceivable tint
from bright red-lilac through shades of
violet and brown to a brown so intense
as to be catalogued as a distinct variety
described as “black-brown”.

All the stamps of this series were
normally perforated 12 by single line
machines. All values are known entirely
imperforate and it would seem
that these, or most of them, are perfectly
legitimate errors. The Philatelic
Record for October, 1882, says:—“We
have seen a used imperforate copy of
the 5 cents, 1859, which is beyond challenge”.
Mr. King states:—“The imperforate varieties are all legitimate, and
undoubtedly genuine, having been seen
in pairs, or in single copies with margins
beyond cavil”. Mr. Charles L.
Pack writing in the London Philatelist
regarding these varieties says:—

I have the 1c and 5c postmarked in
1860 and 1861 at Toronto and Prescott,
Canada West. I also believe that
these varieties were on sale at Kingston,
Canada West, at about that time.
I have also the 2c and 10c in undoubtedly
early used condition.

Bi-sected varieties of the 5c and 10c of
this issue are known though, as Mr.
Howes states of these varieties, they
“were never authorised and seldom
used”. The Philatelic Record for
October, 1888, mentions a part of a
cover with a 10c and half of a 5c side
by side which were evidently used in
prepayment of the 12½c rate, while Mr.
Howes records the existence of a pair
of the 5c used with a half stamp of the
same denomination to make up the 12½c
packet rate. The same writer records a
diagonal half of the 10c used as a 5c
stamp from Bowmanville, Upper Canada,
on February 15th, 1860. Whether
these “splits” were the work of private
parties or were made by postal officials
to fill a temporary shortage of certain
values will probably never be known.

Chapter VII. The First Dominion Issue.

The steady growth of Upper Canada,
chiefly due to immigration, until it had
twice the population of its sister
Province, Lower Canada, aroused cries
for a readjusted representation, which
threatened the French with a hopeless
minority in Parliament and the country
with another impasse. The federation
of all the provinces under something
like the American system was the
only solution; and with, for the most
part, the cordial coöperation of the maritime
provinces, the great scheme was
carried through, and the new dominion
launched in 1867. Each province retained
its local autonomy and separate
legislature under a lieutenant-governor,
always a Canadian, nominated by the
federal executive. To the latter was
reserved all great affairs, such as defense,
customs, Crown lands, Indians,
and the organisation of the vast western
territories then just beginning to open
up.

The famous Sir John Macdonald, the
most illustrious of Canadian statesmen,
was prominent in the federal movement,
as also was Sir Charles Tupper. A final
meeting was held in London, and early
in 1867 the British North America Act
was passed through the Imperial Parliament.
The new capital was fixed at
Bytown, a small town up the Ottawa
well removed from the frontier, fairly
central to all the provinces, and felicitously
rechristened Ottawa. Here were
erected the stately houses of parliament
for senate, commons, and the entire government
staff, familiar to all travellers,
and there, too, the governor-general
of all British North America took up
his residence, Lord Monck being the
first to hold this high office, and Sir
John Macdonald the first premier.

The British North America Act, referred
to above, provided for the division
of the Dominion of Canada into
four provinces named Ontario, Quebec,
Nova Scotia and New Brunswick and
also made provision for the admission
of Newfoundland, Prince Edward
Island, British Columbia, etc., when
such admission should be deemed advisable.
The Act went into force on
July 1st, 1867, and as a mark of the importance
of this event the first day of
July is now a national holiday known
as “Dominion Day”.

It only remains to say that Prince
Edward Island, British Columbia and
Manitoba (not then organised) came
into the federation shortly afterwards.

One of the chief duties of the first
Parliament, which met at Ottawa on
November 6th, 1867, was the revision
and consolidation of the laws of the
various provinces now federated, and
amongst these were, of course, the laws
relating to the Post Office. The Act
passed for the regulation of the postal
service is a lengthy one and the only
provisions of special interest to us as
philatelists, those relating to the rates of
postage,—are more clearly and definitely
tabulated in a Department Order issued
from Ottawa on March 1st, 1868,
to which we shall make reference later.
Before doing so, however, we make a
short extract from the Post Office Act
insofar as it relates to definitions of
various terms and expressions, viz.:—

The term “Letter” includes Packets
of Letters;

The term “Postage” means the duty
or sum chargeable for the conveyance
of Post Letters, Packets and other
things by Post;

The term “Foreign Country” means
any country not included in the dominions
of Her Majesty;

The term “Foreign Postage” means
the postage on the conveyance of
Letters, Packets or other things,
within any Foreign Country or payable
to any Foreign Government;

The term “Canada Postage” means
the postage on the conveyance of
Letters, Packets and other things by
Post within the Dominion of Canada
or by Canada Mail Packet;

The term “Mail” includes every conveyance
by which Post Letters are
carried, whether it be by land or
water;

The term “British Packet Postage”
means the postage due on the conveyance
of letters by British Packet
Boats, between the United Kingdom
and British North America:—And the
term “British Postage” includes all
Postage not being Foreign, Colonial
or Canadian;

The term “Post Letter” means any
letter transmitted or deposited in any
Post Office to be transmitted by Post:—And
a letter shall be deemed a Post
Letter from the time of its being deposited
or delivered at a Post Office,
to the time of its being delivered to
the party to whom it is addressed.

The Department Order addressed to
“All Postmasters, and Other Persons
Employed in the Postal Service of
Canada” dealt chiefly with the rates of
postage and as these are important we
feel it is necessary to reproduce most
of this rather lengthy document in
extenso:—

PRINCIPAL RATES OF POSTAGE.
Letters.

5.—On letters passing between any
two places within the Dominion of
Canada, a uniform rate (irrespective
of distance), of three cents per ½ oz.,
if prepaid; and five cents per ½ oz.
if unpaid.

6.—On letters between any place in
the Dominion and any place in the
United States, 6 cents per ½ oz., if
prepaid; and ten cents per ½ oz. if
unpaid.

7.—On letters to or from the United
Kingdom, in Mails by Canada Packets,
to or from Quebec in summer, or
Portland in winter; or by Mail Packet
to or from Halifax, 12½c per ½ oz.

On do. in Mails via New York Packet,
15 cents per ½ oz.

On letters to Newfoundland, to be in
all cases prepaid, 12½c per ½ oz.

On letters to British Columbia and
Vancouver Island, in all cases to be
prepaid, 10 cents per ½ oz.

On letters to Red River, to be in all
cases prepaid, 6 cents per ½ oz.

Newspaper Rates.

8.—Newspapers printed and published
in Canada may be sent by Post
from the office of publication to any
place in Canada at the following rates,
if paid quarterly in advance, either by
the Publisher, at the Post Office
where the papers are posted, or by the
subscriber, at the Post Office where
the papers are delivered:—

For a paper published once a week, 5
cents per quarter of a year.

For a paper published twice a week,
10 cents per quarter.

For a paper published three times, 15
cents per quarter.

For a paper published six times, 30
cents per quarter.

If the above rates are prepaid by the
Publisher, the Postmaster receiving
payment must be careful to have the
papers so prepaid separately put up,
and marked, distinctly, as prepaid.

When the above rates are not prepaid
in advance, by either the Publisher
at the office of posting or by the
subscriber at the office of delivery,
the papers are to be charged one
cent each on delivery.

9.—Canadian Newspapers, addressed
from the Office of publication to subscribers
in the United Kingdom, the
United States, Prince Edward Island
and Newfoundland, may be forwarded,
on prepayment at the Office
in Canada where posted, at the above
commuted rates, applicable to such
papers within the Dominion.

10.—Exchange Papers passing between
publishers in Canada, between
publishers in Canada and publishers
in the United States, Prince
Edward Island and Newfoundland,
are to pass free—one copy of each
paper to each publisher.

11.—Transient Newspapers include
all Newspapers posted in Canada,
other than Canadian Newspapers sent
from the Office of publication, and
when addressed to any place within
the Dominion, to the United Kingdom,
to the United States, Prince
Edward Island or Newfoundland,
must be prepaid two cents each by
postage stamp.

12.—Newspapers coming into Canada
will be subject to the following
charges on delivery:—

If from the United Kingdom, by mail
packet to Quebec, Halifax or Portland—Free
on delivery.

By mails via the United States (New
York), two cents each.

If from the United States, two cents
each, to be rated at the Canada
Frontier, or exchange office receiving
mails from the United
States.

If from Prince Edward Island or
Newfoundland, when received by
regular subscribers in Canada from
the Office of publication, the ordinary
commuted rates applicable to
Canada Newspapers.

Transient Papers—two cents each.

13.—The Canada Postage rates on
Newspapers coming or going to the
United Kingdom and the United
States, will thus be the same as those
charged in the United Kingdom and
the United States on Newspapers
there received from or sent to Canada.

14.—Canada News Agents may post
to regular subscribers in Canada,
British Newspapers free, and United
States Newspapers unpaid, such papers
in the latter case, must be duly rated
two cents each for collection on
delivery.

15.—The rate on printed matter of
this description posted in Canada, and
addressed to any place in Canada,
Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland
or the United States, will be one cent
per ounce, to be prepaid by Postage
Stamp; and a like rate will be payable
on delivery, when received from the
United States, Prince Edward Island
or Newfoundland.

Periodical Publications.

16.—When posted in Canada, Prince
Edward Island, Newfoundland or the
United States, the rate will be one
cent per four ounces.

17.—A like rate will be payable on
delivery in Canada, when received for
the United States, Prince Edward
Island or Newfoundland.

18.—Periodicals weighing less than
one ounce per number, when posted in
Canada for any place within the Dominion,
Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland
or the United States may,
when put up singly, pass for one-half
cent per number, to be prepaid by
Postage Stamp.

19.—As the Postage Rates on Periodicals,
other than Newspapers, will
be payable in advance, and as certain
classes of such periodicals, printed and
published in Canada, and sent from
the office of publication to regular
subscribers, have for some time past
been exempted from postage when exclusively
devoted to the education of
youth, to temperance, agriculture and
science, or for other reasons, it is ordered,
that with respect to periodicals
which do now enjoy this privilege or
exemption, the exemption shall continue
until the expiration of the current
year—that is, until the 31st
December, 1868, and that from the 1st
January, 1869, all such special exemptions
and privileges shall cease.

Parcel Post.

20.—The rate on Parcels, by Parcel
Post, will be 12½ cents per 8 ounces,
that is to say:—

On a parcel not exceeding 8 oz., 12½
cents.

Over 8 oz., and not exceeding 1 lb., 25
cents.

Over 1 lb. and not exceeding 24 oz.,
37½ cents.

And so on, to the limit of three lbs.

Book and Newspaper Manuscript, and
Other Miscellaneous Matter.

21. On Book and Newspaper Manuscript
(meaning written articles intended
for insertion in a newspaper
or periodical, and addressed to the
Editor or Publisher thereof, for insertion),
Printers' Proof Sheets,
whether corrected or not, Maps,
Prints, Drawings, Engravings, Music,
whether printed or written, packages
of Seeds, Cuttings, Roots, Scions or
Grafts, and Botanical Specimens, the
rate will be 1 cent per ounce, when
posted for any place in Canada or the
United States, and prepaid by Postage
Stamp.

Postage Stamps.

22.—To enable the Public to prepay
conveniently by Postage Stamps the
foregoing rates, the following denominations
of Postage Stamps for
use throughout the Dominion, have
been prepared, and will be supplied to
Postmasters for sale:—

Half cent

Stamps

}

One cent

do.

}

Two cent

do.

}

All bearing, as a

Three cent

do.

}

device, the effigy

Six cent

do.

}

of Her Majesty.

Twelve and a half cent

do.

}

Fifteen cent

do.

}

23.—The Postage Stamps now in
use in the several Provinces may be
accepted, as at present, in prepayment
of letters, etc., for a reasonable time
after the 1st. of April; but from and
after that date all issues and sales to
the public will be of the new denomination.

The section regarding “Franking and
Free Matter” provides that only letters
sent to or by the Governor-General, the
Speaker or Chief Clerk of the Senate
or of the House of Commons, Parliamentary
papers, and legislative documents,
such as petitions, addresses, and
votes, shall be carried free of postage.

The most important change effected
by the above quoted regulations was the
reduction of domestic postage from five
cents to three cents. It will be noted
there are now no prepaid 5c or 17c rates
and but one at 10c (on letters sent to
British Columbia and Vancouver Island)
consequently these denominations were
dropped from the new series. On the
other hand the ½c rate on transient
newspapers, which had to be prepaid,
the regular 3c letter rate, the 6c rate to
the United States, and 15c for the new
British Packet rate made necessary the
issue of these four values in addition to
the 1c, 2c, and 12½c denominations,
which were retained. All these stamps
were printed by the line-engraved
process, as in the case of the earlier issues,
the sheets consisting of one hundred
specimens arranged in ten horizontal
rows of ten each. A new firm—the
British American Bank Note Company,
of Montreal and Ottawa—were entrusted
with the manufacture of these
stamps and, like their predecessors, they
applied their imprint to the plates, so
that it is shown four times on the margins
of the sheets of the printed stamps.
Mr. Howes describes the imprint as
follows:—

The imprint appears in colorless
capitals on a narrow strip of color
with bossed ends, and reads BRITISH
AMERICAN BANK NOTE CO.,
MONTREAL & OTTAWA. This
strip is framed by a very thin parallel
line, its entire width being but one
millimeter, while its length is about
51 mm. It occurs but once on a side,
being placed against the middle two
stamps (numbers 5 and 6) of each
row at a distance of about 3 mm. The
inscription reads up on the left and
down on the right, as before, but the
bottom one is now upright, instead of
being reversed.

In the case of the half cent stamp
at least, we find an additional marginal
imprint over the second and
third stamps of the top row. This
consists of the words HALF CENT,
in shaded Roman capitals 4 mm. high,
the whole being about 40 mm. long.
Presumably the same thing, varied for
each denomination, occurs on other
values of the series, as we find it does
on the succeeding issue; but a strip
from the top of a sheet of the 15 cent
stamps proves that it was lacking on
that value at least.

The new stamps came into use on
April 1st, 1868, and are all much alike
in design. All values show a profile
portrait of Queen Victoria, with head
to right, on a background of horizontal
lines within a circle, but the ornamentation
and disposition of the inscriptions
and numerals of value in the surrounding
frame is different on each. The
Stamp Collector's Magazine for May,
1868, in announcing the issue, gives a
good description which we cannot forbear
quoting, viz:—

We are now in possession of, as we
presume, the entire series of stamps
for the Dominion of Canada, consisting
of seven values—½ cent, 1, 2, 3,
6, 12½, and 15 cents. It would be indeed
odious to compare them with the
issues for another confederation lately
formed. They are the work of a
newly-formed colonial company, and
are worthy to take rank beside any
which have been manufactured by the
rival companies of New York. The
design, as we stated last month in
noticing the 15c—the first of the set to
appear—bears a resemblance to that of
the lower values of Nova Scotia, but
shows the Queen's head turned to the
right. The new “British American
Bank Note Company, of Montreal and
Ottawa”, has done well to copy so
good a device, and certainly has not
spoilt it, as the English engravers did
in the four penny South Australian.
Moreover, whilst retaining the central
figure, by enclosing it in a differently-patterned
frame for each value, they
have given greater variety to the
series. In all, care has been taken to
make the numerals distinct; and it is
as well that this has been done, as two
of the values assimilate considerably
in shade. The half cent is distinguished
from the rest by its smallness—it
is quite one-third less in size, but
the device is the same. The stamps
are all printed on substantial paper,
are perforated, and of the following
colors:

½

cent

black

3

cents

vermilion

1

”

dull red

6

”

brown

2

”

green

12½

”

deep-blue

15

cents

mauve

The two lowest values are for newspapers,
and are far from being acceptable,
notwithstanding their beauty
of design, to the journalists. It had
been expected that newspapers would
be sent throughout the Canadian
provinces free of charge; and there
has been in consequence, a loud but
ineffectual outcry against the general
imposition of even a reduced rate of
postage, and more especially at the
enactment, that the charge must be
paid by senders. “Proprietors of
journals,” says the Quebec Chronicle,
“find it hard enough at present to collect
the simple subscription, without
demanding postage in advance. People
who writhe at present under the payment
of their bare paper account, will
find forwarding postage, in advance,
an excruciating sacrifice.” The 2
cents is no doubt primarily intended
for soldiers' letters. The 3 cents pays
the new single rate for postage; the 6
cents the charge on letters to the
United States. The 12½c represents
the postage to England; and the 15c
the rate for letters sent via New York.
Possibly a 10c will yet be added to the
series, but the old 17c will find no substitute
in it. The new rates came into
operation on the 1st April, and we
suppose on that date all the pre-existing
stamps of Canada, Nova Scotia,
and New Brunswick were withdrawn.

The stamps of this series provide
quite an extensive range of shades, especially
as regards the 2c, 6c, and 15c.
In the case of the latter value the range
of tints is so great that it is difficult to
know what was its originally intended
color. The first shade was evidently
mauve, as given in the Stamp Collector's
Magazine chronicle, but, as is so frequently
the case with mauves, lilacs and
violets, tint variations were soon noticed.
Shades varying from deep red lilac to
grey and blue-grey are known. It is
difficult to draw the line, in some instances,
between true shades and “fades”
but the grey would appear to be undoubtedly
a true color variety and one
that should be recognised as a provisional,
if wholly unintentional, color
change. Scott, in fact, lists it as a
separate issue under the date 1875-77,
but this is an arbitrary classification
which has, apparently, no foundation in
fact, and the best plan is to include the
variety in its logical place with the rest
of the 1868 series.

The paper used for this set of stamps
is what is generally known as “wove”
and it varies, as Mr. Howes states,
“from a very thin, almost pelure quality
to a quite hard and thick variety.” Mr.
King, who was evidently untiring in his
efforts to discover varieties of paper,
says, “This series is of a most interesting
nature, having a very large number
of varieties of paper, all quite distinct,
and specimens of some are of considerable
rarity.” Mr. King then lets himself
go and describes some seventeen
varieties of paper but, with the exception
of two well marked varieties to
which we shall make extended reference
shortly, they all seem to resolve themselves
into minute variations of the wove
paper such as can be found in connection
with most stamps of the 'sixties and
'seventies with the aid of a micrometer
and a well trained imagination! We
doubt whether any specialist, however
willing and enthusiastic, could follow
Mr. King through his intricate listing.

Scott's catalogue lists a sub-variety of
all values except the ½c on “watermarked”
paper. The watermarked letters
found in these stamps were known
at least as early as 1870 and much speculation
was rife as to their meaning. Mr.
John N. Luff finally solved the problem
by assembling a large number of the
watermarked stamps so that he was able
to reconstruct the complete watermark,
viz:—

E. & C. BOTHWELL
CLUTHA MILLS

The letters are large double lined capitals
12½ mm. high with the exception
of the initial letters E, C and B of the
upper line, which are 13 mm. high. The
“watermark” is, of course, the trademark
of the paper manufacturer and,
like other watermarks of a similar
nature, it is not of very great philatelic
importance. It is very generally presumed
that the paper watermarked in
this manner was used provisionally—an
opinion with which Mr. Howes seems to
concur by his statement that “the watermarked
paper must therefore have been
used sometime during the course of the
year 1868, probably the middle, when
supplies of all values except the ½c were
printed.” But we fail to find from any
evidence so far adduced that this watermarked
paper was in use only during
some well defined period. The fact that
it is not found in connection with the ½c
proves nothing for this value was of a
different size from the others and doubtless
paper of a different size, but the
same quality was used so as to prevent
unnecessary waste in cutting into sheets
for printing. At best, as we have already
stated, it is but a papermaker's
trade mark, and it is difficult to understand
on what grounds it is included in
the catalogue as a variety to the exclusion
of similar and well known examples
in the stamps of other countries. We
must confess that more importance seems
to be attached to the variety than is warranted
by its philatelic status and we
commend to our readers' attention
Major E. B. Evans' pertinent comments
regarding it, viz:—

We feel bound to state that, unless
the paper itself is of a different nature
from the plain wove, this watermark
seems to us to possess no interest
whatever. It is evidently entirely unofficial,
and it is quite possible that it
only occurred in one sheet out of
several of identically the same paper.

The other variety of paper which calls
for special mention is a “laid” paper
found in connection with the 1c and 3c
values. It is obviously a true “laid”
paper, the laid lines being very distinct,
fairly wide and quite evenly spaced.
While the use of this paper was, no
doubt, quite unintentional, it is a distinct
variation from the normal wove
which cannot be ignored by specialists,
though we hardly think it is entitled to
rank as a “major” variety as shown by
the classification followed in Scott's
catalogue. The 3c was discovered first
and was mentioned in the Philatelic
Record for March, 1882, as follows:—“Mr.
Tapling informs us that he possesses
the 3 cents red, issue of 1868, on
laid paper.” A few months later Mr.
Corwin discovered a copy of the 1c
which he described in the National Philatelist
for January, 1883, as follows:—

Some time since I saw noted in the
Philatelic Record the existence of a
3 cent Canada stamp, emission of 1868,
on laid paper. In looking through
my Canadian varieties, after reading
this note, I discovered also a copy of
the one cent red, same emission, on
laid paper.

This laid paper was evidently used
during the printing of the early supplies
of the 1c and 3c denominations. Scott's
catalogue lists the varieties under the
date “1870” but we can find no evidence
of any kind in support of this classification.
Messrs. Corwin and King record
a copy of the 1c postmarked November
27th, 1868, and the 3c is known dated
August 31st, 1868, all of which points to
the early use of this laid paper. The
15c on “thin paper, horizontally laid”
was mentioned in the American Journal
of Philately for October, 1892, on the
authority of Mr. F. de Coppet but as the
variety is not now catalogued and no
copy seems to be known we presume its
authenticity is a debatable question.
The 1c, orange, was at one time listed
on laid paper but this has been satisfactorily
proved to be simply a “figment of
the imagination”.

In his article in the London Philatelist
Mr. C. L. Pack describes the 15c as
existing on “distinctly soft ribbed paper”.
Mr. King gives “ribbed” varieties for all
values on both thin and thick soft paper
but, as in the case of the earlier Canadian
stamps found on ribbed paper, we
think a lot of proof is yet necessary before
these varieties can be accepted as
anything better than accidental vagaries
of printing.

The perforation used for the stamps
of this series had a gauge of 12, as with
the stamps of the preceding issue, and
was the work of single line or guillotine
machines. That is, each line of perforation,
both horizontally and vertically,
represented a separate stroke on the machine.
The Monthly Journal for February,
1899, lists a minor variety of
perforation in the 2c, 3c, 6c, 12½c and
15c denominations in which the measurement
is 11½ × 12. Whether a machine
with a gauge of 11½ was in temporary
use at some time or other is uncertain
but if such was the case it seems strange
that no copies are known perf. 11½ all
round or perf. 12 × 11½. Even if it
were due to a slight error in the placing
of the perforating needles in some part
of the full row it is strange that specimens
gauging 12 × 11½ are not known.
We have been unable to find any further
references to these varieties other than
that stated above so that, until more information
is forthcoming on the subject,
they should be accepted with reserve.

The 15c of this series is known entirely
imperforate and Mr. Howes records
the ½c as existing in a horizontal
pair, imperforate between.

The only “split” found in connection
with this series occurs in the case of the
6c denomination, diagonal halves of
which are known to have done postal
duty as 3c. These appear to have been
entirely unauthorized though, as they
undoubtedly passed through the mail,
they have an interest to collectors of
stamps on cover.

Chapter VIII. The 1c Orange of 1869.

The 1c and 3c stamps of 1868 were so
alike in color that it was soon found
that confusion was easily possible between
the two values. Early in 1869,
therefore, the color of the 1c was
changed to orange to prevent further
mistakes. The exact date at which this
change took place is not known, but in
the Stamp Collector's Magazine for
March 1st, 1869, we read:—

We have just received copies of the
one cent printed in brilliant orange. No
doubt this colour has been adopted in
order better to distinguish it from
the 3 cents, which it has hitherto too
nearly approached.

From the above extract it would seem
that the orange colored stamps were in
use at least as early as February and
though it has been asserted that the
change took place on January 1st, 1869,
we believe there are no official documents
or early dated specimens in existence
that would substantiate this statement.

These 1c stamps may be found in both
orange and yellow shades as well as a
combination of both. So far as is known
they were printed from the same plate
or plates as the earlier brown-red
stamps.

The paper is the same as that used for
the other denominations, i.e. wove, and
the fact that this variety is not known
with the watermark of the papermaker's
trade mark is generally adduced as the
strongest evidence in support of the
theory that this watermarked paper was
only of a provisional nature and was
used some time during 1868.

The perforation is the usual 12 and
specimens are known entirely imperforate.

Chapter IX. The Large 5c Stamp.

Although it somewhat interrupts the
chronological sequence of our narrative,
before dealing with the small “cents”
stamps, first appearing in 1870, it will
be as well to give the history of the
large 5c stamp which, though not issued
until 1875, really belongs by virtue of its
type and general appearance to the series
of 1868.

It is known that the die for this 5c
stamp was engraved in 1867 at the same
time the dies for the ½, 1c, 2c, 3c, 6c,
12½c and 15c values were prepared for,
in the American Journal of Philately for
June, 1868, it is stated:—

The Canadian Government have had
a 5 cent stamp prepared, engraved of
the same type as the present set, the
most noticeable difference being the
circle round the head which is corded.
The specimen sent us is printed in
brown on India paper, bearing the
Company's imprint underneath.

Though the die was all ready, as
amply proved by the above extract, no
plate was made as there was then no
postal rate which required such a denomination.
In 1875, however, the single
letter rate between Canada and Great
Britain was reduced to 5c as stated in
the Postmaster-General's Report for
1875, viz.:—

A treaty for the formation of a General
Postal Union, and for the adoption of uniform postal rates and
regulations for International correspondence,
was arranged and signed at
Berne, Switzerland, in October, 1874,
by the representatives of the Post
Offices of the chief Nations of the
world. This agreement took effect between
all the countries which were
directly parties to the Treaty in July
last. The Treaty did not include the
British Possessions beyond the sea,
but Canada has, with the concurrence
of the Imperial Government, applied
for admission as a member of this
Postal Union. Meanwhile the letter
rate of postage between Canada and
the United Kingdom has, by arrangement
with the Imperial Post Office,
been reduced to the International rate
of 2½ pence sterling—5 cents currency—established
by the Union Regulations;
and this reduction has also been
made applicable to correspondence
passing by way of New York, making
the rate between Canada and the United
Kingdom uniform at 5 cents by whatever
route conveyed.

Although the Report alluded to above
is dated June 30th, it must have been
published at a later date as the “July
last” mentioned refers to July, 1875, and
when the 5 cent rate came into operation
stamps to fit this new rate were wanted
in such a hurry that, as a temporary
expedient, a plate was made from the
die engraved in 1867 pending the preparation
of a die conforming to the small
sized stamps then in general use. There
was only one printing and the total number
issued is believed to have been about
one million. Mr. Howes says it was
issued on October 1st, 1875.

In 1877 the 5c single letter rate was,
by treaty, extended to embrace the German
states of Prussia, Baden, Bavaria,
Hanover, Saxony and Wurtemberg and
in the same year the rate on a single
letter to Newfoundland was reduced
from 6c to 5c. At this time, of course,
the small sized 5c stamps were in use
but it will better preserve the continuity
of our study of the postal rates to make
one more extract from the Postmaster-General's
Reports—that for 1878,—viz.:

At the meeting of the International
Postal Congress, which, under the
provisions of the Postal Treaty of
Berne, concluded in October, 1874,
took place at Paris in May, 1878, Canada
was admitted to be a member of
the General Postal Union from the 1st
July, 1878, and in consequence the
rate of letter postage between Canada
and all Europe became one uniform
charge of 5 cents per half ounce.
Newspapers and other printed matter,
and samples and patterns of merchandise
also became subject to uniform
postage rates and regulations for all
destinations in Europe.

The 5c rate was, thus, now well established,
and Canada had obtained membership
in the Universal Postal Union,
for which she had been striving since
1875.

This large 5c stamp was printed by the
line-engraved process, like the other
denominations of similar designs. The
portrait forming the centrepiece is like
that on the values of 1868 though the
medallion is enclosed within a “corded”
circle instead of an ordinary plain line.
“CANADA POSTAGE” is curved above
the portrait, as usual, while below is
“FIVE CENTS”. The numerals, shown
in the lower corners, are somewhat
smaller than those on the other denominations
of this type.

The stamps were printed in sheets of
100, in ten rows of ten, and with regard
to the marginal imprints Mr. Howes
tells us that “The sheet bore four marginal
imprints, arranged as before, but
of a slightly different type for the 1868
issue. This new imprint is in capitals
and lower case letters on a colored strip
56 mm. long and 2½ mm. wide, with a
border of pearls, and reads: 'British
American Bank Note Co. Montreal'.
Doubtless the words FIVE CENTS in
shaded Roman capitals would be found
over the second and third stamps of the
top row if one were fortunate enough to
possess this portion of a sheet.”

The stamps were printed on the wove
paper then in use and perforated 12 in
the usual manner.

Chapter X. The Small “Cents” Stamps.

In the American Journal of Philately
for August, 1869, we read “Canada is
shortly to have a new set of stamps.
Taking lessons in economy from our
own country, it seems they are about
altering their stamps to make them
smaller, so as to save paper. The head
will still remain exactly the same as
now, but the frame and the margin
around the head will be considerably
less. We cannot see how this can be
done without spoiling the beauty of the
stamp. As to whether they are to retain
the same colors we are unable to
say.” The 1869 issue of the United
States was in use at that time and
though this series is now generally popular
it was regarded with very mixed
feelings then as may be imagined from
the Stamp Collector's Magazine comments
on the above statement, viz.:—“We
trust this intelligence is incorrect;
that the example of the new United
States stamps can have any attractive
influence on the Canadian authorities is
hardly possible.”

The new issues do not seem to have
formed the subject of any special official
document or notice, nor does the reduction
in the size of the labels seem to
have been considered worthy of special
mention in any of the Reports issued by
the Postmaster-General.

These smaller sized stamps were issued
as the stocks of the earlier issues
became exhausted or, in some cases,
presumably as the old plates were discarded
owing to wear, but it appears
very probable that the dies for the 1c,
2c, 3c, 6c and 10c denominations were
all engraved at the same period and, as
regards the 2c, 6c and 10c, it is very
possible that supplies were printed and
held in stock long before it became
necessary to issue them to the public.

The 3c was the first value to appear
and was probably on sale some time
in January, 1870. The Stamp Collector's
Magazine for March 1st of that year
chronicled this new stamp as follows:—

It appears that the reduction in the
size of the Dominion postage stamps,
to which reference was made some
months ago, is really to be carried out,
and as an earnest of the execution of
the project, we receive the three cents
red, cut down to the size of the half
cent, and with the design made to
resemble that of the latter. The
numerals in the upper corners are
absent; the inscription, CANADA
POSTAGE, is in almost microscopic
lettering, and in lieu of the full denomination—THREE
CENTS—in the
lower margin, the word CENTS alone
appears, flanked by the figure on each
side. The cause of the change is not
to be sought in any desire to economise
paper; it lies in the simple fact that
the smaller size is found the more
convenient. The design certainly is
not improved by it, and we might call
upon these little stamps to “hide their
diminished heads,” were it not that
the head, and that alone, remains as
large as ever. The stamps, though in
a fair way to become small by degrees
as the Canadian idea of convenience
increases, are not likely to become
“beautifully less.” A new value, however,
made up from the parings of the
old ones—an 8 cents—is said to be in
preparation, and will help to make up
in quantity, for any deterioration in
the quality.

The next value to appear was the 1
cent, which was recorded in the journal
referred to above in its issue for April
1st, so that it was no doubt on sale
some time in March, 1869. In design it
is similar to the 3c, the main difference
being in the inscription at base. The denomination
is given in full—ONE CENT—and
this follows the curve of the medallion
instead of curving in the reverse
direction as CENTS does on the 3c.

Evidently there were large stocks on
hand of some of the values of the 1868
issue for two years elapsed before any
more of the small stamps appeared.
Then in the Stamp Collector's Magazine
for February, 1872, we read:—“We have
received by the last mail specimens of a
new 6 cents brown of the small size. It
is printed of a warm tint, and is as
effective as its congeners.” The design
follows that of the 3c very closely with,
of course, the numerals “6” instead of
“3” in the lower angles.

In the following month the 2c was
chronicled, its color being given as “a
delicate chrome-green.” The design
differs from the 3c and 6c chiefly in the
direction of the curve of the word
CENTS, which is reversed, as compared
with those denominations, and
much less pronounced.

The 10c was the next value to appear
and it was not on sale until quite late in
1874, probably about November 1st. The
design follows the general effect of the
2c but at the same time illustrates a new
departure, inasmuch as the numerals of
value are repeated in the upper corners
in a smaller form. For what particular
purpose this value was intended is not
clear for there was, apparently, no regular
rate at that time which required such
a denomination.

The next value placed on sale was the
5c, which was issued in February, 1876,
and superseded the large 5c design after
it had been in use for only about four
months. Though the portrait is the same
as that on the other values the frame
is of a distinctly different style and
CENTS is in much larger letters than
before, showing that the previous values,
following as they do a general pattern,
were engraved much about the same time
though many years elapsed before all
were actually in use.

Finally in July, 1882, the ½c value
appeared and was recorded in the Philatelic
Record for July of that year in the
following words:—

That “history repeats itself” is a
proverb that is curiously illustrated by
the latest issue of this colony. We all
remember that in 1868 a ½c stamp
of smaller size than the other values
of the series was emitted. A few
years later, some say for economical
reasons, the other values were reduced
to the smaller size. Recently it seems
to have struck the Canadian authorities
that their idea of fourteen years
ago was a happy one, and the ½c has
been proportionately cut down. The
general arrangements of the design remain
the same, but the ornamentation
is simpler. The head and circle containing
it are miniatures of the former,
and the result is what the ladies
would call “a dear little stamp,” about
the size of our lately defunct “Halfpenny,”
but an upright instead of an
oblong rectangle. We trust the price
of paper will not again cause a general
reduction; for if the Canadian stamps
go on growing “small by degrees, and
beautifully less,” they will in time become
too microscopic to be collectible.

After the issue of the ½c value the
only denominations of the 1868 series
not provided with successors in the
issue under notice were the 12½c and
15c. Regarding the former value the
Stamp Collector's Magazine for May,
1872, says, on the authority of a Canadian
journal:—“It is unlikely that the
12½c small size will be issued, as the
large ones are very little used, and
can now be bought at the post-office
for 12 cents.” But some three years
later the American Journal of Philately
asserted that “Canada will shortly issue
the 12½c and 15c values of postals in
small size, to correspond with the others
of the series.” These stamps, however,
never materialised though that dies and
plates were made and stamps printed
from them is evident from the existence
of perforated essays of these two
values. The portrait is exactly like
that of the other denominations, and
the borders are, on general lines, so
like the 1c, 2c, 3c, 6c and 10c as to give
considerable support to the belief that
these unissued varieties were prepared
for use at quite an early date.

The stamps of this series were all produced
by the line-engraved process and
all values, with the exception of the ½c,
were at first printed in sheets of 100,
arranged in ten horizontal rows of ten.
The ½c was printed in sheets of 200, arranged
in two panes of 100 each, placed
side by side. A space of about 11 mm.
separated the two panels and these large
sheets were cut into halves before leaving
the printing establishment, thus making
“post-office” sheets of 100 stamps.
In the later months of 1892 or early in
1893 the 1c, 2c and 3c values—the ones
in most general demand—were printed
in large sheets of 200 arranged in ten
horizontal rows of twenty stamps each.

A close study of a large quantity of
these stamps would probably result in
the discovery of many interesting varieties
in the way of double transfers. In
the few stamps at our disposal we have
found but one of any prominence. This
occurs on the 3c denomination the top
portion of the design having plainly been
applied to the plate twice, the doubling
being especially noticeable in the inscription
CANADA POSTAGE.

As these stamps were in use for a
fairly lengthy period—nearly thirty years
in the case of the 3c—it is obvious that a
large number of plates must have been
made, especially for those denominations
which were generally used. At different
times different marginal imprints or arrangements
of the imprints were used,
and given sufficient material a study of
these marginal varieties should reveal
much of interest. Mr. Howes has paid
particular attention to these varieties and
the following notes are chiefly based on
his investigations.

The earliest plates of the 1c, 2c, 3c, 5c
and 6c, and probably the 10c as well (as
this value was in use before the 5c), had
the denomination in words above the
second and third stamps on the top row
of each sheet. These inscriptions, “ONE
CENT”, etc., were in large shaded Roman
capitals 4 mm. high. In the centre
of each of the four margins is the manufacturer's
imprint, BRITISH AMERICAN
BANK NOTE CO. MONTREAL
& OTTAWA, in colorless Roman capitals
on a narrow strip of color 1 mm. wide
and 51 mm. long; this imprint being,
in fact, exactly like that found on the
sheets of the 1868 issue. These remarks
apply to the 1c, 2c, 3c and 6c (and probably
to the 10c also), but not to the 5c.

The 5c, which was not issued until
1876, has the denomination shown in the
upper margin in large shaded Roman
capitals, as in the case of the others, but
the imprint is different, being like that
found on the sheets of the large 5c stamp,
i.e. “British American Bank Note Co.
Montreal”, in capitals and lower case letters
on a strip of solid color 56 mm. long
by 2½ mm. wide, with a pearled border.
This imprint was shown on each of the
four margins.

About this time new plates made for
the other denominations also had this new
style of imprint. Sheets of the 1c and 3c
show the imprint on top and bottom margins
only, but whether other plates were
used for these denominations with imprints
on all four sides is not known for
certain, though this is highly probable.
The 6c and 10c values of this series have
large numerals, “6” or “10” as the case
may be, above the second stamp in the
top row, while above the ninth stamp of
the same row is “SIX” or “TEN” in
shaded Roman capitals. The numerals
are very thick and 6 mm. in height, while
the letters are 4 mm. high as on the earlier
plates, though the word “CENTS” has
now been dispensed with. This arrangement
has not been noted on other denominations
as yet, though there is no reason
why it should not be found in connection
with the 1c, 2c and 3c.

A sheet of the 3c value, with two marginal
imprints, is noted with “THREE”
in shaded Roman capitals above the first
two stamps of the top row, while the 1c
is recorded without any marginal designation
of value and with but two of the
“Montreal” imprints.

The printing establishment of the
British American Bank Note Company
was removed from Montreal to Ottawa
in 1888 and plates made after that date
show a new style of imprint viz:—“BRITISH
AMERICAN BANK NOTE
CO. OTTAWA”, in white Roman capitals
on a strip of solid color measuring
40 mm. long by 1½ mm. wide. This, it
will be noted, is like the first type of imprint
but with the words “MONTREAL
&” removed. On the 2c this is known
49 mm. long and nearly 2 mm. wide, this
being from a sheet in the 100 arrangement.
The smaller style of imprint
seems to have been characteristic of the
sheets printed in the 200 size, and writing
with regard to these Mr. Howes says:—

The “Ottawa” imprint appears three
times, once in the middle of the top
margin, over stamps 10 and 11, and
twice in the bottom margin, beneath
stamps 5 and 6, and again beneath
stamps 15 and 16. There are no imprints
at the sides. The denomination
appears in the top margin at both right
and left and in a new style of lettering
on these larger plates. Thus we find
ONE CENT or TWO CENT over
stamps 2 and 3 as well as 18 and 19, or
THREE CENT over the first four and
last four stamps in plain Egyptian
capitals.

The ½c value, which we have left until
last on account of its different sheet arrangement,
had the “Montreal” imprint,
described in connection with the other
values, arranged six times on the margins—above
and below each pane, at the
right of the right hand pane, and at the
left of the left hand pane—so that there
were three imprints on each of the “post-office”
sheets of 100 stamps. In addition,
to quote Mr. Howes, “over the top
inscription of the right pane is the reversed
figure 1, 4 mm. high, and in the
same position on the left pane the corresponding
figure 2, evidently to designate
the panes.”

This series provides a number of shade
varieties, as is only natural in a set having
such long currency, and their proper
treatment is a matter involving some
little perplexity. It was evidently the
original intention of the printers to keep
the colors of the small stamps as nearly
like those of the large ones they superseded
as possible, and while many shades
match the colors of the earlier stamps
to a nicety others show a divergence that
at times almost approaches a “color
change.” As early as May, 1873, the
Stamp Collector's Magazine noted a
change in the shade of the 3c viz.:—

By the courtesy of a Montreal correspondent
we are in possession of
specimens of the current three cents,
printed in bright orange-vermilion. A
supply in this color has just been issued.

The Philatelic Record for March, 1888,
says “The 10c is now in carmine-red”,
and again in May that “the 5 cents has
changed its color from bronze-green to
greenish grey.” More than a year later
(July, 1889) the same journal says “the
2 cents stamp is now blue-green;” in December,
1890, the 6c is recorded in “chestnut-brown”;
while in April, 1892, the 5c
is chronicled as having been issued in
“grey-black.”

Similar color changes in most values
were recorded in other journals but as
there is an almost total lack of agreement
as regards the names chosen to
designate the different shades these
chronicles are of little value in determining
the chronological order of issue
of even the most striking of the tints.
It is also more than probable that after
a change had been made the original or
earlier tints were reverted to later on.
The catalogues are equally at variance
in their choice of color names and while
Gibbons' gives four shades for each of
the 1c and 3c values, Scott gives but two
for the 1c and of the four given for the
3c not one agrees with any of the names
given by Gibbons'. The only point on
which both catalogues agree is that a
general change of colors took place during
the period of 1888-90, i.e., after the
printers had moved their establishment
from Montreal to Ottawa. But though
the later printings of the 6c and 10c do,
undoubtedly, differ very materially from
the earlier colors—almost enough so, in
fact, to be classed as distinct colors—such
varieties seem to have been purely
accidental and to classify them as separate
issues hardly seems correct. In this
connection it is interesting to quote Mr.
Howes' remarks:—

That the above changes were hardly
of a character to warrant dignifying
them as a “new issue,” which is frequently
done, is shown by a moment's
consideration. The ½c and 1c stamps
showed no appreciable difference in
coloring and therefore caused no comment.
The 2 cent did not retain its
blue green shade unaltered, and the 3
cent soon reverted to its former brilliant
red hue, as the Philatelic Journal
of America for May, 1889, says that
“the carmine color recently adopted
has been dropped, and the stamps are
printed in colors similar to the ones
in use before the change was made.”
The 5, 6, and 10 cent stamps, however,
made permanent changes, but only
such as might readily be traceable to
a new mixing of the inks in the case
of the first two. The 10 cent can
hardly be so easily disposed of, as lake
and brown-red are of quite different
composition from a rose-lilac. But
there can have been no official intention
of altering the shades or colors
or more definite and permanent
changes would certainly have been
made throughout the set. It remains,
therefore, to classify them simply as
shade varieties of the original set.

Mr. Donald A. King, in his article in
the Monthly Journal, gives no less than
eight varieties of paper for the stamps of
this issue, though all resolve themselves
into slight, and in many cases probably
imperceptible, variations in quality and
thickness of the usual “wove” paper.
Mr. Howes gives a thick and thin wove
and “a closely ribbed paper.” This latter
like the ribbed varieties in the earlier
issues, is evidently due to nothing more
than some eccentricity of printing and is,
consequently, of doubtful philatelic importance.
The classification of the series
into thick and thin papers seems to have
more to be said in its favor if the statement
made in Gibbons' catalogue is to be
relied on. According to a foot note the
stamps printed prior to 1888 (that is, in
Montreal), are on a thinner paper than
was used for subsequent printings. The
Philatelic Record for October, 1893, mentions
the 10c as being found on “fine
laid paper” but this was evidently the
variety more generally classified as
“ribbed.”

The perforation used for the stamps
of this series was the usual 12—the work
of single-line or guillotine machines. All
values are reported to exist perforated
11½ by 12, as mentioned in connection
with the issues of 1868, but this statement
requires verification before it can
be accepted as authoritative. All values
are known entirely imperforate, the 3c in
this condition being first recorded in the
Philatelic Record for December, 1882.
Writing in the London Philatelist in 1907
Mr. M. H. Horsley says with regard to
these varieties:—“Imperforated copies of
various values were sold over the Post-office
counter in Montreal about the years
1891-3 at their face value, and have been
good for postage whenever people cared
to use them.” Writing a little later on
the same subject Mr. C. L. Pack also
vouches for them, viz.:—“I quite agree
with Mr. Horsley in regard to the various
imperforate copies of the issues of
1882 to 1895. There are a good many
specimens of these stamps imperforate,
and they were on sale at a Canadian
Post Office.” Curiously enough Gibbons'
catalogue entirely ignores these imperforate
stamps though Mr. Howes is able
to adduce documentary evidence in support
of the statements made by philatelists
of such undoubted authority as
Messrs. Horsley and Pack.

Scott's catalogue records the ½c as existing
in a horizontal pair imperforate
between.

The same work records the 2c bi-sected
diagonally or vertically and the halves
used for 1c stamps, while Mr. Howes
adds the 6c, cut vertically and used for
3c. But as the “Canadian Postal Guide”
declares that “a mutilated stamp, or a
stamp cut in half, is not recognised in
payment of postage” such freaks can only
have passed through the mails by carelessness
or favor and their philatelic
interest is negligible.

In 1875 an Act of Parliament was
passed making the prepayment of letters
by postage stamp obligatory and imposing
a fine of double the deficiency on
all insufficiently prepaid letters. At the
same time local or drop letters (accepted
for 1c) were restricted to ½ oz. in
weight.

The Postmaster-General's Report for
1879 says:—

A reduction has been made, from the
1st September last, in the postage rate
on closed parcels sent by post within
the Dominion, from 12½ cents per 8
oz. of weight to 6 cents per 4 oz. Under
this change small parcels not exceeding
4 ounces in weight are admitted
to pass for 6 cents instead of
12½ cents as before.

It will thus be seen that this change
did away with the chief use of the 12½c
value and made it practically useless.
Hence the reason it was never included
among the series of small “cents” stamps.

In 1889 another Post Office Act increased
the limit of weight of single
letters from ½ oz. to 1 oz., and at the
same time increased the postal rate on
local or drop letters from 1c to 2c,
though a weight of 1 oz. was allowed
under the new schedule. An official notice
recording these changes was published
as follows:—

NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC

Changes in Postage Rates Under
Authority of Post Office Act 1889.

The rate of postage upon Letters
posted in Canada, addressed to places
within the Dominion or in the United
States, will be 3 cents per ounce instead
of 3 cents per half ounce as heretofore.
Upon Drop Letters posted at
an Office from which letters are delivered
by Letter Carrier, the postage
rate will be 2 cents per ounce, instead
of 1 cent per half ounce. The rate of
postage upon Drop Letters, except in
the Cities where free delivery by Letter
Carrier has been established, will
be 1 cent per ounce.

The fee for the Registration of a
letter or other article of mail matter,
will be five cents upon all classes of
correspondence passing within the Dominion.
For the present and until
further instructed, the registration fee
may be prepaid by using the 2 cent
Registration Stamps and Postage
Stamps to make up the amount.

Letters insufficiently prepaid will be
charged double the deficiency as heretofore,
provided at least a partial payment
has been made. Letters posted
wholly unpaid will be sent to the Dead
Letter Office for return to the writer.

John G. Haggart,Postmaster-General.

Post Office Department,Ottawa, 8th May, 1889.

Chapter XI. The 20c and 50c Stamps of 1893.

The Postmaster-General's Report for
1892 states that “Postage stamps of the
value of 20 cents and 50 cents are about
to be issued. These will be useful in
prepayment of parcel post.” These high
values were, of course, intended to be
used in making up relatively large
amounts of postage. They were not
issued to be used in prepayment of any
specific rates though a study of the
postal rates of the period show that the
postage on a parcel weighing up to one
pound sent to the United Kingdom
would require a 20c stamp, while a 2 lb.
parcel sent to Japan would take the
50c denomination. The same rates
show that the postage on 1 lb. parcels
sent to Newfoundland was 15c, though
no stamp of this value had been issued
subsequent to the series of 1868 nor has
one ever since been included in the
regular series.

These new 20c and 50c labels were
issued on February 17th, 1893, and while
alike in design, except as regards the
denotation of value, they are quite dissimilar
from any of the previously issued
postage stamps of the Dominion
both as regards size and design. The
portrait shows Queen Victoria in her
widow's weeds and is similar to that
shown on the Bill stamps which were
first issued in 1868. Above the portrait
CANADA POSTAGE is curved,
and on straight labels at the foot is the
value in words, while between this inscription
and the lower part of the
medallion are figures of value.

The stamps were, as usual, produced
by the line-engraved process, and they
were printed in sheets of 100 at the
Ottawa establishment of the British
American Bank Note Company. The
manufacturer's imprint was shown
twice on each sheet—in the centre of the
upper and lower margins. This imprint
consisted of the words “British American
Bank Note Co. Ottawa,” on a strip
of solid color measuring 38 mm. in
length and 2½ mm. in height. This
colored strip has square ends and is enclosed
within a pearled border.

Both values were printed on the wove
paper used for the other denominations
then current and the perforation was
the usual 12 made by single-line machines.

Evidently these values were but sparingly
used, for Mr. Howes tells us:—

Both were ordered to the number
of half a million copies in 1893, and
in 1895 25,000 more of the 20 cent and
30,000 more of the 50 cent were delivered,
with a final 200 copies in 1896.
These quantities were sufficient to
last until the 20 cent was superseded
by the newer type in 1901, and the
50 cent by the King's head stamp in
1908. Some 1500 of the 20 cent were
returned for destruction and about 10,000
of the 50 cent.

It seems hardly possible that but 200
copies of each were supplied in 1896—i.e.
two sheets of each value—if they
were the normal perforated stamps.
Possibly this small supply consisted of
the imperforates—both values being
known in this condition—and if so they
may have been printed to fill a special
requisition. The imperforate 20c is on
the normal shade but the 50c is, as Mr.
Howes observes, in a “peculiar black
blue” shade. There are no marked varieties
in shade as can easily be understood
from the few printings which
took place.

Chapter XII. The 8c Stamp of 1893.

Until 1889 the registration fee had to
be prepaid by means of the special
stamps issued for the purpose. When,
in 1889, a uniform registration fee of 5c
was adopted the public were given permission
to use the ordinary postage
stamps in making up the difference between
the old rate of 2c and the new
one. This was done largely to enable
the old 2c labels to be used up. In 1893
it was decided to discontinue the use
of special registration stamps altogether
and to permit the payment of the registry
fee by means of the regular postage
stamps. As the rate of domestic postage
was 3c at that time and the registration
fee was 5c, a new stamp, by means of
which both postage and registration
could be paid together, it was decided,
would be useful. Consequently an 8c
denomination was issued, this being recorded
in the Philatelic Record for
October, 1893, though, judging from the
following extract from the Weekly for
August 10th, 1893, it would appear that
the new value was in general circulation
at least as early as August 1st:—

The following orders were posted
up in all Canadian post-offices on August
1st:

A new postage stamp of the value
of 8c is now being put into circulation.
This stamp will be available for the
prepayment either of registration fee
and postage combined, or of postage
only. The 5c registration stamp,
when the present supply is exhausted,
will be withdrawn.

The new denomination, as stated in
the Philatelic Record, “resembles in design
the 3 cents of the current series;
but the head of the Queen has been
turned the other way, and is now to the
left.”

This stamp was of similar size to the
other values of the set then current (excepting
the 20c and 50c, of course) and
it was printed from steel plates in
sheets of 200 arranged in ten horizontal
rows of twenty stamps each. According
to Mr. Howes, there were no marginal
imprints of any kind. This denomination
was printed on wove paper and
perforated 12 like the others. The variety
with gauge of 11½ × 12 is reported
in connection with this value but, like
the similar varieties of the earlier issues
which we have already mentioned,
the statement requires verification before
it can be definitely accepted.

The 8c is known entirely imperforate
in the blue-grey shade, which was one
of the earliest if not the first shade for
this stamp. The Philatelic Record calls
it “slate-grey” but evidently the tint
now generally classified as “blue-grey”
was meant.

This stamp provides a large number
of very distinct shade varieties. Just
13 months after it was first chronicled
the Philatelic Record says:—“Whether
by accident or intention does not appear
to be quite clear, but copies of the present
8 cents are found in much darker
color than we have hitherto seen.
Messrs. A. Smith & Son have shown us
copies that are slate-black of the darkest
kind.”

A writer in the Canada Stamp Sheet
for October, 1900, says:—

There are three varieties of this
stamp, the slate, the lilac-grey and the
purple. The first and second tints
are comparatively common, but the
purple is not found in every dealer's
stock nor has it a place in many stamp
collections. In fact, it is a variety
but little known to the average collector,
from the fact that it is seldom
offered, either on approval sheets or
on the counter of the dealer. There
ought to be no difficulty in distinguishing
this stamp from its mates of
the same denomination, for while the
backs of the rest present a white surface,
in this case the back or paper
is of a decidedly purplish hue. In
my opinion this stamp is a good one
to pick up now, as its present value is
far below its intrinsic worth.

Later still, a German paper referred
to three main printings for this stamp
a translation of the article appearing
in Gibbons Stamp Weekly for June 13th,
1908, as follows:—

The last stamp issued showing a
portrait of the late Queen Victoria as
a young girl was the 8 cents, Canada,
issued in July, 1893. The stamp was
intended for a combined postage and
registration stamp; 3c for postage (inland)
5c registration fee.

There were three distinct printings
of this stamp; they may be easily distinguished
from each other by differences
of shade.

July

1893

blue-grey.

October

1895

slate-grey.

?

1897

purple-black.

The total number issued of these
stamps was 5,885,000, but unfortunately
there are no records of the quantities
of each of the three printings.

It will be noticed that there is no 8
cents in the King Edward VII issue,
for the simple reason that the inland
rate had been reduced to 2 cents;
therefore the present combined postage
and registration stamp is a 7 cents.

The above extract, it will be noted, is
very explicit as regards the actual number
issued as well as the dates of issue
of the three most distinctive shades. On
what authority these statements are
based we cannot say, but Mr. Howes
shows from official records that many
more than the quantity stated were
printed, viz.:—

The first delivery of these stamps,
and of course the first printing, was
of 100,000, as recorded in the stamp
accounts for 1893. As these accounts
were made up to 30th June, and there
is no record of any “issue to postmasters,”
the stamps were doubtless
delivered just before the accounts
were closed, so that opportunity had
not been given to distribute the new
value. For the next few fiscal years
the amount received from the manufacturers
averaged over a million and
a half annually, so that by the time
it was superseded it had been printed
to the number of at least 7½ millions.

Chapter XIII. The Diamond Jubilee Issue.

The year 1897 was an eventful one in
the history of the British Empire, for on
June 20th the greatly revered Queen
Victoria celebrated the sixtieth anniversary
of her accession to the throne.
Naturally such an epochal event was
marked in one way or another in even
the most remote corners of the Empire.
In some cases there were public
celebrations and rejoicings with, perhaps
the erection of memorials, while some
of the colonies marked the event by the
issue of special series of postage stamps.
The Dominion of Canada commemorated
the “Diamond Jubilee” by the issue
of a highly ornate set of stamps
comprising no less than sixteen different
denominations, and the inclusion of
what were widely termed “unnecessary”
high values and the unbusinesslike and
somewhat discreditable manner in which
they were placed on sale by the Post
Office Department cast a slur on Canada's
postal history which took many
years to live down.

Early in 1897 the idea of issuing a
special series of stamps was mooted as
witness the following extract from the
Weekly Philatelic Era for January 30th:

Many suggestions are being made
and many plans laid for the fitting
celebration of the sixtieth year of Her
Majesty's reign. In Canada ...
a proposal has been made and an
agitation started for the issue of a
commemorative set of postage
stamps by the Dominion government....
It has been suggested that
the new stamps be made a trifle larger
than the present ones, that a somewhat
recent picture of Her Majesty
replace the present one, and that the
figures and colors be made more pronounced....
The agitation for a
new issue is quite pronounced and is
by no means confined to philatelists.
There appears to be a general desire
on the part of the people to have a
change.

At first the intention seems to have
been to issue only a 3 cent stamp but,
alas, this original intention was stifled
like many other good ideas and the
Departmental officials, giving their enthusiasm
free rein, finally decided on a
set to consist of sixteen denominations
ranging all the way from ½c to five
dollars. The announcement of the
forthcoming issue of the stamps aroused
so much general interest that the series
formed the subject of a question in
Parliament and according to the Canadian
Hansard—the official and verbatim
record of Parliamentary proceedings—the
Postmaster-General (Mr. Mulock)
replied to his interrogator as follows:—

It is the intention of the Government
to issue a set of Jubilee postage
stamps. Such stamps will be put into
public use by being delivered to postmasters
throughout Canada for sale
to the public in the same manner as
ordinary postage stamps are sold.
There will be a limit to the quantity
to be issued. The denominations of
Jubilee stamps, and the total number
of such Jubilee stamps to be issued,
are set forth in the following
schedule:

Number to be issued.

Denomination.

150,000

½c

stamps.

8,000,000

1c

"

2,500,000

2c

"

20,000,000

3c

"

750,000

5c

"

75,000

6c

"

200,000

8c

"

150,000

10c

"

100,000

15c

"

100,000

20c

"

100,000

50c

"

25,000

$1

"

25,000

$2

"

25,000

$3

"

25,000

$4

"

25,000

$5

"

7,000,000

1c

postcards.

Total value of one stamp of each
kind $16.21½.

As soon as the total number of
stamps mentioned in said schedule is
issued the plates from which they will
have been engraved will be destroyed
in the presence of the head and two
officers of the department. On the
10th of June the Post Office Department
will proceed to supply Jubilee
postage stamps to the principal post-offices
in Canada, and through them
minor post offices will obtain their
supply until the issue is exhausted. If
this Jubilee issue were to wholly displace
the ordinary postage stamps it
would supply the ordinary wants of
the country for between two and three
months, but as the use of the ordinary
postage stamps will proceed concurrently
with that of the Jubilee stamps,
it is expected that the Jubilee stamps
will last beyond the three months.
Inasmuch as the department is already
receiving applications for the purchase
of Jubilee stamps, it may be stated
that the department will adhere to the
established practice of supplying them
only to postmasters, and through them
to the public, who may purchase them
on and after the 19th June, 1897.

It will be noted that the Post-Office
Department made no pretense about
the matter but stated quite candidly that
the issue would be limited and before
very long, by means of different official
notices and communications it was made
quite plain that the issue was intended
to sell and that restrictions would be
placed on the scale of the more desirable
values, which were issued in but small
quantities. With the first supply of
these stamps sent to postmasters the following
circular was sent:—

N. B.—Requisitions for full sets of
the Jubilee stamps will be filled until
the issue is exhausted.—E. P. S.

Post Office Department, Canada,
Postage Stamp Branch,

Ottawa, June, 1897.

Sir:—I am directed by the Postmaster-General
to send you herewith
a supply of the Jubilee stamps and 1c
post card, equal to one month's ordinary
requirements of your office.
Should this quantity prove insufficient
it will, on your requisition addressed
to this branch, be supplemented; but
as the Jubilee issue is limited, it
would be necessary for you to apply
early in order to secure further supplies
of the same.

I am also to instruct you not to
sell any of the accompanying stamps
or postcards before the opening of
your office at the regular office hours
on the 19th June instant—the eve of
the anniversary they are intended to
commemorate.

These stamps and cards are, of
course, like the ordinary issues, to be
sold at face value.

I am, Sir, Your Obedient Servant

E. P. Stanton, Superintendent.

P. S.—As there appears to be a
somewhat general desire on the part
of many persons to purchase, for
souvenir purposes, complete sets of
the Jubilee stamps, it is hoped that
you will so manage the sale of such
stamps that persons applying to purchase
full sets may be able to get
them.—E. P. S.

The stamps were placed on sale
throughout the Dominion on the morning
of Saturday, the 19th of June the
eve of Jubilee day proper. Naturally
there was a big rush on the part of the
public to obtain specimens of the much
heralded stamps and in the larger centres
the post offices were literally besieged.
Speculators tried to corner the
½c and 6c denominations, which advance
particulars had shown to be the
most desirable of the lower values, but
the stamps were doled out carefully and
large orders were promptly and firmly
refused. But though care was exercised
the department was convinced, from the
result of the first day's sale, that steps
would have to be taken to further restrict
the sale of the desirable denominations.
The demand for the stamps at
the chief office was so great that a circular
letter was prepared to be despatched
to applicants, this reading as
follows:—

Post Office Department, Canada,
Postage Stamp Branch,

Ottawa, 26th June, 1897.

Sir,—With reference to the numerous
demands upon this office for the
½c and 6c Jubilee stamps, I am directed
to explain that the respective
quantities of Jubilee stamps ordered
bear, relatively, the same proportions
to the actual requirements of the
Postal Service, but the tendency to exhaust
the HALVES and SIXES has
increased to such a degree, that it has
become necessary to restrict their sale
to the purchasers of full sets. Hence
I am to express the Postmaster-General's
regret that he is unable, having
regard to the limited character of the
Jubilee issue, to comply with any requests
for the ½c or 6c denomination,
apart from those for full sets.
These sets may be obtained as long as
the series of Jubilee stamps last, but
as the demands upon it are unusually
heavy, it would be advisable to apply
for full sets at the earliest possible
moment.

When Postmasters obtain such sets
to fill orders actual or prospective at
their respective offices, they must not,
in any case, break the sets.

I am, Sir, Your Obedient Servant

E. P. Stanton, Superintendent.

P. S.—Under no circumstances will
there be any issue of Jubilee stamps,
beyond the limits mentioned in the
accompanying extract from Hansard,
containing the Postmaster-General's
statement on the subject.

At the same time instructions were issued
to postmasters that they were not
to sell the ½c, 6c, 8c and dollar denominations
except in the complete sets of
sixteen values.

Later this ruling was modified and
sets to 50c and $1 inclusive were allowed
to be sold resulting in the issue of another
circular to postmasters worded as
follows:—

Post Office Department, Canada,
Postage Stamp Branch,

Ottawa, August, 1897.

Sir,—I am directed to transmit to
you the accompanying partial sets of
Jubilee stamps. These sets consist of
two kinds: one from a ½c to $1 (value
$2.20½), the other from ½c to 50c
(value $1.20½). You are instructed to
sell these stamps as sets, and as sets
only, representations having been
made to the department that in various
parts of the Dominion there is a desire
to obtain such sets for souvenir purposes.
You must not, under any circumstances,
break a set; for, besides
the disappointment that such a course
would cause, you would render yourself
liable to loss, the department having
decided not to allow credit for any
broken sets returned to it by a postmaster
who, notwithstanding the instructions
herein given, sells any
denominations of the stamps making
up a set apart from the rest.

I am also to ask you to use your best
judgment in the sale of these sets,
checking, as far as possible, any attempt
on the part of speculators to
monopolise them, and thus securing as
general distribution of such sets in
your vicinity as the circumstances may
permit. To enable you to make
change in connection with the sale of
the enclosed sets I include a sufficient
quantity of ordinary ½c postage
stamps.

I may add that the accompanying
supply has been based strictly upon the
annual revenue of your office, and,
having regard to the total number of
sets available and the extent of their
distribution, represents that proportion
to which you are entitled.

I am, Sir, Your Obedient Servant

E. P. Stanton, Superintendent.

So anxious did the department show
itself in its efforts to circumnavigate the
speculator, and so obvious was the fact
that the Jubilee stamps were issued, like
our own Columbian stamps, for the pecuniary
profit the Government would
derive from their sale, that it is small
wonder that the series was condemned
and discredited by the philatelic press
almost universally. The following extract
from the Monthly Journal for
June, 1897, is typical of many:—

We are indebted to various correspondents
for papers and cuttings with
reference to the Jubilee issue of this
Colony which will have taken place by
the time this is in print. While acknowledging
that the design of the
stamps appears to be a very handsome
and appropriate one, we feel bound to
add that the affair possesses no other
redeeming feature whatever. The
Canadian Government has made a new
contract for the supply of stamps, etc.,
with an American firm, which will apparently
involve a new issue of stamps
within a short time. If the occasion
had been taken for the issue of a permanent
series appropriate to the Jubilee
year, nothing could have been more
agreeable to philatelists throughout
the British Empire; but to bring out
a set of labels, including unnecessarily
high values and printed in limited
numbers, to be issued concurrently
with the present stamps, is to reproduce
all the most objectionable
features of the unnecessary and speculative
emissions, which we all desire
to put an end to. We cannot expect
that on such an occasion as this loyal
British subjects will be able to abstain
altogether from purchasing
Jubilee mementoes of this description,
but we would most strongly recommend
them to be satisfied with copies
of one or two of the lower values.
Outside the British Empire we trust
that this discreditable issue will fall as
flat as it deserves.

To add to the unsavory tale we have
only to say that there was much scandal
on account of the openly expressed statements
that the desirable values were, in
many instances, cornered by postal employes
who had, of course, “first option”
on the supplies reaching their respective
offices. Thus, in the Philatelic Messenger
of New Brunswick, we read:

But now that the stamps have been
issued in certain given numbers and
in the Postmaster-General's peculiar
way, where are they? That is what a
great many want to know and that is
a question which must be answered.
I know where some of them are. I
had a letter from a postmaster's son
at a small office in Quebec, asking me
what I would give for 45 8c Jubilee
stamps. I had a letter from an office
in P. E. Island, asking my prices for
½, 6, and 8c Jubilee stamps. Collectors
in the principal cities of the Dominion
have seen whole sheets of ½c
stamps in the possession of post-office
employees. These little incidents may
give one some idea where the stamps
are. I also have a pretty good idea
where the stamps are not. A prominent
Toronto dealer laid $100 on the
stamp counter the first day of sale,
and was tendered two specimens of
the ½c and 6c stamps. At Montreal,
Toronto, St. Johns, Halifax, and all
the principal cities, not more than two
specimens of the ½, 6, 8, 10, 15, 20 and
50c stamps were sold to the same
person, that is, of course, outside the
post-office staff. I have it on good
authority that there is not a stamp
dealer in Canada who has 100 of the
½c value unless he happens to be a
post-office employé also. The stamps
are not in the dealers' stock books
then, for they have not been able to
get them. I wrote to Fredericton the
other day for a few 10, 15, 20 and 50c
stamps and the postmaster returned
the money and said they could be supplied
only in complete sets. One meets
with the same reception at nearly every
post office. What were the stamps
made for if not to be sold to the public
as the public wants them? What
would be thought of a furniture store
where one could not purchase a table
or a chair but must take a whole set?
The thing is ridiculous.

While the idea of issuing special
stamps to commemorate the Diamond
Jubilee was laudable enough, the restrictions
applied to their sale and the
inclusion of unnecessary high values was,
to put it mildly, an official faux pas. It
has been asserted that the values from
$2 to $5 inclusive were quite unnecessary
as it was not possible to use either of
these denominations in prepayment of
any legitimate postal charges. But it
was also pointed out that as there was
no limit to the weight of a package sent
by first class mail a heavy letter could
easily call for more postage than $5.
Indeed, in his article in the Monthly
Journal, Mr. Donald A. King stated:—

At a post office with which I am
somewhat familiar the posting of letters
and parcels for the United Kingdom
and other Postal Union countries
that called for postage from $1.00 upwards
was, at certain periods, a matter
of daily, often hourly, occurrence,
so much so that the only comment it
excited was from the clerk cancelling,
who would audibly wish that there
were higher values in the permanent
issue than 50c and thus save time cancelling
the entire length of a large envelope.

Within my own experience there has
been more than one case where a letter
has been mailed on which there
was not space to place the stamps; an
entire sheet (100) of 15 cents stamps
was pasted on, obliterated, and then
another with some odd values completed
the prepayment; and the case
can be recalled of a letter on which
$40.00 postage was prepaid. While
the Jubilee set was in everyday use the
sight of the higher values was quite
common on any mail for the United
Kingdom and Europe, shipping and
commercial houses prepaying their
mail with the “dollar” values simply
as a matter of convenience.

But though there may have been isolated
instances in which high values
could be used with convenience their
very limited use is obvious from the fact
that the Canadian government has always,
both before and since the emission
of the Jubilee set, found a 50c
value high enough for all practical purposes.
Had postal requirements called
for such constant use of high values as
Mr. King's remarks lead us to infer it is
hardly likely that, when the remainders
were finally withdrawn and destroyed in
1905, out of a comparatively small total
issue of 25,000 of each of the dollar
stamps 94 of the $1, 66 of the $2, 1,835
of the $3, 2,013 of the $4, and 1,240 of
the $5 would be returned and destroyed.

The design is the same for all denominations
and, as we have already
stated, is a very handsome one. The
stamps are of extra large size and show
two portraits of Queen Victoria. That
on the left, with the date “1837” below
it, is identical with the portrait shown
on the old 12d and 7½d stamps, while
the one on the right, with date “1897”
below, is from a full length portrait
painted in 1886 by Professor von Angelo
of Vienna. This shows the Queen in
her robes of state as she appeared on
the assumption of the title “Empress of
India.” Above the portraits is CANADA
POSTAGE and between these
words is the so-called Tudor Crown of
Great Britain with the letters “V. R. I.”
below—these latter, of course, standing
for Victoria Regina Imperatrix, (Victoria,
Queen and Empress). At the
base the value is shown on a straight
tablet and in the angles, and between
the two dates, are maple leaf ornaments.
These Jubilee stamps were printed by
the American Bank Note Company, who
had recently secured the contract for
the printing of stamps, bank notes, etc.,
for the Dominion. In the Montreal
Herald for January, 1897, the following
particulars are given with regard to the
change of printers:—

The contract for the Government
engraving, for which tenders were
called two months ago, has been
awarded to the American Bank Note
Company, of New York, for a period
of five and a quarter years. The contract
is worth $600,000, and may be renewed
for a similar period. The work
consists of engraving the Dominion
bank notes, revenue and postage
stamps, postal cards, etc. At present
the British American Bank Note Company,
better known as Burland and
Company, formerly of Montreal, have
the contract. They tendered this time,
but the New York company was the
lowest. The New York company is
one of the largest and best known in
the world. The firm engraves notes
for some of the banks in Canada, including
the Canadian Bank of Commerce.
Under the terms of the new
contract, the Company will require to
establish a place in Ottawa to do the
work, where the Government can have
supervision of it. As compared with
the prices paid under the Burland contract,
the Government will effect a
saving of $120,000 by the new contract.

The stamps were, like all Canadian
stamps, produced by the line-engraved
process, the values from ½c to 5c inclusive
being printed in sheets of 100 in ten
horizontal rows of ten, and the other
denominations in sheets of 50 in ten
horizontal rows of five stamps each.
The only marginal inscription consists
of the name OTTAWA followed by the
number of the plate. This inscription
appears at the top of the sheets only—above
the centre of the fifth and sixth
stamps in the case of the ½, 1, 2, 3 and
5c values and above the third stamp on
the values from 6c to $5. The name is
in thin Roman capitals, 2½ mm. high,
the total length of the inscriptions being
about 40 mm. The following are the
numbers of the plates used:—

½ cent

plate 9.

1 cent

plates 5, 6, 15, 16.

2 cents

plate 7, 8.

3 cents

plates 1, 2, 3, 4, 11, 12, 13, 14, 28, 29, 30, 31.

5 cents

plate 10.

6 cents

plate 17.

8 cents

plate 20.

10 cents

plate 19.

15 cents

plate 18.

20 cents

plate 21.

50 cents

plate 23.

$1

plate 27.

$2

plate 26.

$3

plate 24.

$4

plate 22.

$5

plate 25.

The paper was the usual wove variety
and the perforation gauged 12—the production
of single-line or guillotine machines.
Even in the case of values of
which large quantities were printed,
like the 3c, variations in shade are remarkably
slight. The 1c is known split
diagonally and the halves used as ½c
and while this practice was disproved of
by the Post Office Department the half
stamps undoubtedly filled a local need as
shown by an extract from a Canadian
newspaper printed in the Weekly Philatelic
Era, viz.:—

The Railway News last week on account
of not receiving permission
from the Post-Master General to allow
papers to go through the mails free,
was compelled to pay postage. No half
cent stamps being available, the post
office department allowed one cent
stamps to be cut in halves for postage.
This is the first time on record we believe
where such was allowed and
the stamps have been eagerly sought
after, one dollar being paid for a
single stamp with the post office stamp
on it. The News will pay twenty-five
cents each for the one cent Jubilee
stamps cut in halves bearing the post-office
stamp of November 5th, 6th, or
8th, which was allowed to pass
through the mails on that date owing
to there being no regular half cent
stamps available.

One set of Jubilee stamps—said to be
the first one printed, though of course
this statement cannot be taken literally
as meaning the stamps were printed one
at a time:—was mounted in a specially
designed portfolio and presented to the
Duke of York, now His Most Gracious
Majesty King George V. An account
of this presentation set, taken from an
old issue of the Weekly, is worthy of
reproduction:

A very unique and handsome piece
of work is the postal portfolio which
is to be presented to His Royal Highness,
the Duke of York, by the Dominion
Government, and which is on
exhibition in the window of Kyrie
Brothers, Jewelers, Toronto. The
portfolio is in the form of an album,
the cover of which is of royal blue
morocco leather, handsomely decorated
in gold. In the centre of the
front cover is a raised shield in white
on which are the words in gold letters,
“Dominion of Canada, Diamond Jubilee
Postage Stamps, 22nd June, 1897.”
The corners of the portfolio are decorated
with guards of Canadian gold
made from British Columbia and
Raney district ore. The right hand
upper corner decoration is a design of
maple leaves, and the lower corner
of English oak leaves and acorns. The
portfolio is fastened with a clasp of
Canadian gold in the form of oak
leaves, while the bracket on the front
holding the clasps in position, is entwined
with maple leaves with the
monogram of H. R. H. the Duke of
York—G. F. E. A.—George Frederick
Ernest Albert. On the third page is
the inscription, “This collection of
postage stamps issued at Ottawa by
the Dominion of Canada in commemoration
of the Diamond Jubilee of Her
Most Gracious Majesty Queen Victoria
is presented to H. R. H. the
Duke of York, K. G., by the Government
of Canada, 1897.” The last page
of this unique stamp album will contain
the certificate of the destruction
of the dies and plates in the presence
of Hon. Wm. Mulock, postmaster-general
of Canada.... This is probably
the dearest stamp album in the
world, and contains only a single
specimen of each denomination of the
Jubilee issue.

And now we conclude our history of
this Jubilee issue by another extract
from the Weekly giving an account of
the destruction of the dies and plates
from which the stamps were made:—

On Friday afternoon, September
10th, I presented myself at the Post-Office
Department and joined a party
who were just leaving the building to
go over to the American Bank Note
Co.'s building, a couple of blocks away.
Arriving, we were conducted to the
top floor by the manager. The plates,
dies, etc., were brought out by those
in charge, and the seventeen original
dies after inspection by those present
were placed one by one under a press
and an obliterating roller passed over
them several times; proofs were then
pulled which faintly showed the outlines
of the ovals, etc., but the words
showing the values could not even be
made out. Next, the rolls for transferring
the impression from the dies
to the plates came in for their share
of attention. There were nineteen of
them, and a few burns from an emery
wheel quickly put each one “out of
sight.” The plates, 31 in number, were
subjected to the same treatment as
the dies, and the total time occupied
in the destruction of the various parts
occupied almost two hours.

Chapter XIV. The “Maple Leaf” Issue of 1897.

Soon after the printing contract was
awarded to the American Bank Note
Company it was rumoured that a new
series of stamps would be issued, but
for a time public expectations of the
new stamps were overshadowed by the
appearance of the Diamond Jubilee
issue. A cutting from an Ottawa paper
dated September 28th, 1897, shows, however,
that preparations for a new set
were well in hand, viz.:—

The design for a new postage stamp
has been approved by the Postmaster-General.
There is a portrait of Her
Majesty as she appeared at the coronation,
except that a coronet is substituted
for a crown. The portrait
has been engraved from a photo procured
during the Jubilee ceremonies,
and upon which was the Queen's own
autograph, so that it is authentic.
The corners of the stamp will be
decorated with maple leaves, which
were pulled from maple trees on
Parliament Hill and engraved directly
from them. Everything indeed is
correct and up to date, and the new
issue will reflect credit on Mr.
Mulock's good taste. The engravers
will take care to make this permanent
and ordinary issue a tribute to their
skill. The present stock of stamps
it will take some months to exhaust,
and not till they are done will the
new stamps be issued. It may be
about November of this year.

About a month later a circular was
addressed to postmasters announcing
the issue of the new stamps as follows:

Circular to Postmaster.

New Issue of Postage Stamps, Etc.

The Postmaster-General has made
arrangements for a new issue of
postage stamps, letter cards, stamped
envelopes, post cards, and post bands.
These will be supplied to postmasters
in the usual way. Postmasters are,
however, instructed not to sell the
stamps of any denomination of the
new issue until the stamps of the corresponding
denomination of the present
issue are disposed of. The filling
of requisitions by the Postage Stamp
Branch will be regulated by the same
principle—that is to say, no item of
the proposed issue will be sent out
until the corresponding item of the
present issue has been exhausted.

To conform to the requirements of
the International Postal Union the
color of the new 1c stamp will be
green and that of the 5c stamp a deep
blue.

R. M. Coulter,
Deputy Postmaster-General.

Post-Office Department, Canada.
Ottawa, 25th October, 1897.

The Postmaster-General's Report for
1897, issued after the stamps had made
their appearance, also refers to the new
issue and to add completeness to our
history we extract the following:—

Owing to the change of contract for
the manufacture and supply of postage
stamps, a new series of stamps
became necessary at the beginning of
the present fiscal year. New stamps
ranging in value from the ½c to the
10c denomination (inclusive) were
printed, and the first supplies thereof
sent out to postmasters as the corresponding
denominations of the old
stamps became exhausted. A considerable
quantity of the higher values
of that series (15 cents, 20 cents and
50 cents) remaining over from the
late contract, these three stamps continued
to be issued, so that the department,
previous to the introduction
of the same denominations in the new
series, might, in accordance with the
universal practice, dispose of the old
stamps in each case, before issuing
any of the new. The design of the
new stamps is of a uniform character,
and consists of an engraved copy (reduced)
of an authorized photograph
of Her Majesty taken during the
Diamond Jubilee year. This, placed
within an oval bearing the usual inscriptions,
is enclosed within a rectangular
frame, a maple leaf on a
lined ground occupying each of the
triangular spaces between the two
frames. To conform to the regulations
of the Universal Postal Union,
the color of the new 1 cent stamp is
green, and that of the 5 cents a deep
blue. This necessitated corresponding
changes in the colors of the other
stamps of the new series; for example,
purple instead of green being
selected for the 2 cent denomination,
and orange instead of slate for the 8
cent.

The first denomination of the new
series—the ½ cent—was placed on sale
on November 9th, 1897. About the end
of the same month the 6c made its appearance,
and this was quickly followed
by the 1c, 2c, 5c and 8c in December.
The 3c and 10c were issued early in
January, 1898, so that official instructions
that the new stamps were not to
be issued until the supplies of the old
issue were exhausted were fully carried
out, though all values were on sale
within the space of about three months.

The design of the new stamps is at
once simple and effective. In the central
oval is a three-quarter face portrait
of Her Majesty, with head to left,
which was copied from a photograph
taken by W. & D. Downey, of London,
at the time of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations.
Around the oval is a band of
solid color containing the words CANADA
POSTAGE above and the value in
words below, all being in Egyptian capitals.
The spandrels are filled with a
ground of horizontal lines on which
maple leaves rest. While, as Mr. Howes
observes, “much criticism was engendered
by the fact that the portrait was
too large for its frame, making the design
appear cramped,” public verdict, as
a whole, expressed unqualified approval
of the new design.

The stamps, like those of the preceding
issues, were printed from line-engraved
plates and, with one exception,
these plates contained one hundred impressions
arranged in ten horizontal
rows of ten each. The exception referred
to occurred in the ½c, the first
plate for which contained 200 stamps,
arranged in ten rows of twenty stamps
each. This is mentioned in the Weekly
Philatelic Era as follows:—

By some misunderstanding the contractors,
the American Bank Note
Co., set the sheet up with 200 stamps,
and the first five hundred sheets were
so printed. The sheets were afterwards
cut in two through the imprint,
and we have these half sheets with a
close imperforated margin on either
the left or right edge. Afterwards
sheets of 100 stamps were issued, all
the stamps perforated on all four
sides. Plate number collectors will
find the earliest sheets difficult to obtain.
Both sheets bear the plate number
1.

The imprint on the sheets followed
the plan originated with the Jubilee
series, “OTTAWA—No—1,” etc., being
placed in the centre of the top margin.
Each value began with No. 1 and apparently
for the 5c, 6c, 8c, and 10c the one
plate sufficed. For the ½c, as we have
already shown, there were two plates,
both numbered “1”; while for the 1c
there were two plates, for the 2c, three
plates, and for the 3c, six plates.

The stamps were printed on stout
white wove paper, similar to that used
for the Jubilee stamps and at some
time or other a slightly thinner and
more brittle paper seems to have been
used. The paper for the 5c is of a distinctly
bluish color—this being the first
occasion on which colored paper was
used for any of the postage stamps of
the Dominion.

The perforation was the regulation
gauge of 12, which has been in continuous
use since 1858, and, as the Philatelic
Record stated when first chronicling the
issue, “many of the stamp are badly
centered, a characteristic defect of the
American Bank Note Company's work.”
The 5c is known entirely imperforate.

Chapter XV. The “Numeral” Issue of 1898.

The “maple-leaf” issue had not been
long in use before complaints were
made that owing to the lack of plain
numerals it was a difficult matter to
distinguish the various denominations.
In its issue for April 2nd, 1898, the
Metropolitan Philatelist stated another
ground for complaint and also referred
to a forthcoming change, viz.:—

Much dissatisfaction is expressed by
the French speaking inhabitants of
the rural parts at the lack of figures
of value on the stamps, the denomination
in all cases being printed in English
which they are unable to understand.
It has, therefore, been decided
to alter the new stamps by removing
the maple leaves from the lower corners
and inserting large numerals of
value in their place. The space occupied
by the head will also be somewhat
enlarged and the value will be
placed on a straight band below.

A few months later the redrawn
stamps made their appearance, for the
Monthly Journal for July 30th, 1898,
records the issue of the 1c and 3c denominations
as follows:—

The design is certainly improved,
the oval being enlarged so that its
outer line covers the outer line of the
rectangle at each side and at top and
bottom. The band being the same
width as before, this allows a larger
space for the head, which no longer
appears so closely “cribbed, cabined
and confined.” The inscriptions remain
unchanged, but in each of the
lower corners is a plain rectangular
block, containing a colored numeral.

Mr. Howes states that these two
values were issued on June 21st, 1898,
and, following its usual custom, the
Canadian Post-office did not place the
other denominations on sale until the
corresponding values of the old series
were all used up. Thus, the ½c, 2c and
6c did not appear until early in September,
the 8c was placed on sale in the
first few days of October, the 10c was
issued in the early part of November,
while the 5c, which was the laggard of
the series, was not on sale until July
3rd, 1899.

Although the design was entirely redrawn
and the wider oval gave the portrait
a less cramped effect, it did not
satisfy all the critics—though, so far as
this fact is concerned, it is doubtful if
any stamp issued anywhere at any time
has met with universal approbation!

The stamps were produced by the usual
method of steel engraved plates and
they were printed in sheets of 100, in
ten rows of ten, as had now become the
regular custom. The imprint is like
that on the sheets of the “maple leaf”
issue and, again as with that series, the
numbering of the plates started with “1”
for each denomination. So little interest
seems to have been taken in these
marginal varieties that no authoritative
record of the several plates employed
has been kept. Mr. Howes gives but
one plate for the ½c, 6c, 8c and 10c
values, three for the 5c, four each for
the 2c and 3c, and six for the 1c but it
seems highly probable there were many
more especially for such values as the
1c and 2c which were used in very large
quantities.

In 1901 there were rumours that
some of the stamps of this type had
been re-engraved, the foundation for the
canard being the following paragraph
from the Weekly:—

Mr. H. A. Chapman has sent me a
specimen of a re-engraved 1c Canada
numeral, in which the differences from
the first issue demand recognition.
The re-engraved type is shorter and
wider than the one preceding it. I
note also that the 2c is said to exist
in the same condition.

In reprinting this statement the Philatelic
Record observed “Can this be true;
or is it only another case of a slight
difference caused by the shrinkage after
wetting the sheets for printing purposes?”

The Monthly Journal for September.
1901, soon set the matter at rest as
shown by the following extract:—

Miss A. L. Swift very kindly informs
us that a friend of hers made
enquiries at headquarters in Ottawa,
and was assured that no re-engraving
whatever has taken place, and that any
differences that exist must be due to
shrinkage or expansion of the paper
during the process of printing. Our
correspondent, who is a well-known
American writer upon philatelic subjects
and a careful philatelist, tells
us that the ½c, 1c and 2c of the numeral
type and several values of the
Maple Leaf type, show these variations,
and adds that in the case of the
½c of both issues one size is found
in grey-black only, and the other in
deep black only. It is possible that the
amount or thickness of the ink employed
may have some effect upon the
varying shrinkage of the paper.

The same journal refers to the matter
again in the following month, viz.:—

In reference to the question of the
variations in the size of the stamps of
the last two issues of this Colony, a
correspondent tells us that he has
been studying these stamps, and has
come to the conclusion, no doubt correctly,
that the variations are due to
differences in the quality and thickness
of the paper. As in the old case
of the Ceylon stamps the longer
copies are on thicker paper than the
short ones. All stamps that are
printed on damp paper, and especially
those from plates engraved in taille-douce,
are liable to vary in this way.

The above seems to be the most reasonable
explanation of the differences
for the measurements of the so-called
long and short stamps are practically
constant, which one would naturally expect
to find if two sorts of paper, differing
slightly in thickness and quality,
were used.

Chapter XVI. The “Map” Stamp of 1898.

Shortly after Great Britain adopted
penny postage for internal use in 1840
postal reformers began to dream of
Ocean Penny Postage, and although
universal penny postage is not yet an
accomplished fact it is within reasonable
distance of being so. A great step in
this direction was made in 1898 when at
an Imperial Convention on Postal Rates
held in London the mother country and
various colonies agreed to adopt the rate
of one penny per half ounce on letters
sent to or from Britain or one another.
The following extract from the London
Standard for July 13th shows in an
interesting manner how far the movement
had then progressed:—

We are authorised by the Postmaster-General
to state that, as the result
of the Imperial Conference on Postal
Rates, it has been agreed, on the proposal
of the Representative of the
Dominion of Canada, that letter postage
of one penny per half-ounce
should be established between the
United Kingdom, Canada, Newfoundland,
the Cape Colony, Natal, and
such of the Crown Colonies as may,
after communication with, and approval
of, Her Majesty's Government,
be willing to adopt it. The date on
which the reduction will come into
effect will be announced later on.
The question of a uniform reduced
rate for the whole Empire was carefully
considered; but it was not found
possible to fix upon a rate acceptable
to all the Governments concerned. A
resolution was therefore adopted,
leaving it to those parts of the Empire
which were prepared for penny
postage to make the necessary arrangements
among themselves.

Since then other portions of the British
Empire have fallen into line and the
ties binding the English speaking
peoples have been further strengthened
by the adoption of penny postage between
the United States and Great
Britain as well as with many of her
Colonies.

Elihu Burritt, the “learned blacksmith”
of New Britain, Connecticut,
was one of the earliest advocates of
Ocean Penny Postage and late in 1848
he issued a pamphlet setting forth his
views on the subject. Exactly fifty
years later Imperial Penny Postage was
inaugurated though it was on a much
broader and more liberal basis than
Burritt had dared to hope in his fondest
imaginings.

Canada, as will be noted from the
preceding extract, was the leader in the
movement for Imperial Penny Postage
and marked the culmination of its ambitious
plans by issuing a special two
cents stamp. Mr. Mulock, the then
Postmaster-General of the Dominion,
was responsible for the idea of issuing
a special stamp as well as the sponsor
for its design. The new stamp was first
mentioned by the Ottawa correspondent
of the Outlook as follows:—

Mr. Mulock, the Postmaster-General,
has chosen the new inaugurating
stamp. It is in the form of a miniature
map of the world distinguishing
British possessions and illustrating the
relative vastness of the Empire, in
which Canada, of course, plays a
prominent part.

In commenting on this paragraph the
Philatelic Record, for December, 1898,
stated “A poster stamp even of the
large plaster type, which ‘distinguishes
British possessions and illustrates the
vastness of the Empire’, will indeed be
a multum in parvo, and probably the
less said the better in anticipation of the
realisation of such an apparently absurd
idea for a design on such a small engraving
as a postage stamp needs to be.”

The Ottawa Evening Journal gave
further particulars about the forthcoming
stamp, viz.:—

The new Imperial Penny Postage
Stamp, to be used between Great
Britain and a number of her colonies
after Christmas Day next, has been
designed by the Postmaster-General
and ready to be issued. It is not to be
a special issue, but will take its place
among the regular issues. When Mr.
Mulock was in Britain he was surprised
to notice that the great mass of
the people did not appreciate the value
or the greatness of the British possessions
abroad. This was especially
true of Canada. The idea, therefore,
suggested itself to him when he was
considering a new stamp, to prepare
something that would show the dimensions
of Greater Britain compared
with all other countries. Mr. Mulock
asked for some designs from a few
artists when he came back to Canada,
but they did not meet with his views,
and he roughly sketched out something
himself and passed it over to an artist
to have it touched up.

The feature of the new stamp is a
neatly executed map in miniature of
the world, showing the British possessions
as compared with all other
countries. The empire is distinguished
from the possessions of the
other powers by being in red. Surmounting
this map is a representation
of the crown, underneath which is a
bunch of oak and maple leaves, symbolizing
the unity of the Mother
Country and Canada. At the upper
edge of the stamp are the words
“Canada Postage” in a neat letter.
Underneath the map is placed “Xmas,
1898”, so that the date of the inauguration
of Imperial Penny Postage
shall be a matter of record. On the
lower corners are the figures “2,” indicating
the denomination of the
stamp, and at the lower edge is this
suggestive passage taken from the
works of one of our patriotic poets:
“We hold a vaster Empire than has
been.” Mr. Mulock will be able to
claim the credit of giving the public
the cheapest map of the world ever
issued. The size of the stamp is
about the same as the Jubilee issue.

The printing of the new stamps began
on December 1st, both the Governor-General
and Postmaster-General being
present while the first sheets were run
off the presses. Although it was originally
intended to issue the stamp on Christmas
Day it was actually placed on sale
quite early in the month as explained in
the following extract from the Weekly:

Ottawa, Dec. 5th.—It having been
stated in some newspapers that the
new two-cent Imperial stamp would
not become available until Christmas
Day, inquiry made at the Post Office
Department today to ascertain the truth
of this statement elicits the fact that,
although it was the original intention
of the department that the new stamp
should not come into use until the
25th inst., the demand from the public
for it has become so pressing that the
department has decided to issue it at
once, and permit its immediate use to
the extent of its face value for all
postage purposes. In other words, as
soon as it reaches the public it may,
if preferred by the purchaser, be used
instead of the ordinary two-cent
stamp. The two-cent inter-Imperial
rate does not, of course, come into
effect until Christmas Day.

Under date of December 7th the
Canadian correspondent of the Weekly
Philatelic Era refers to the actual issue
of the stamp, viz.:—

The new Imperial stamps referred
to in past numbers of the Era were
issued this morning, and although the
new Imperial rate does not come into
effect until Xmas-day, and they bear
that inscription, they are receivable
for ordinary postage now.

The general design has already been
described, but it may be well to say
that the stamps are printed in three
colors. The frame is in black with
white letters, the seas are in a pale
blue, or rather a lavender, and the
British possessions are in a bright
red. The map of the world is on
Mercator's projection, which magnifies
high latitudes; consequently the
Dominion of Canada, which occupies
the middle of the upper part of the
stamp, looks bigger than all the other
British possessions put together. The
border of the stamp is of cable pattern
and measures 32 mm. in width
by 22½ in height. The stamp is
printed on medium, machine-wove,
white paper, similar to that used for
the Jubilee and subsequent Canadian
issues, and is perforated 12.

The design is well-known to all our
readers and as it has already been extensively
dissected in the above quotations,
further comment is hardly necessary.
The new stamps naturally caused
lots of criticism on account of their
somewhat bombastic legend “We hold a
vaster Empire than has been”. This
was taken from the jubilee ode written
by Sir Lewis Morris on the occasion of
Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, the
last stanza of which reads as follows:—

We love not war, but only peace,Yet never shall our England's power decrease!Whoever guides our helm of state,Let all men know it, England shall be great!We hold a vaster empire than has been!Nigh half the race of man is subject to our Queen!Nigh half the wide, wide earth is ours in fee!And where her rule comes all are free.And therefore 'tis, O Queen, than we,Knit fast in bonds of temperate liberty,Rejoice today, and make our solemn jubilee!

The stamps were printed in the usual
sheet arrangement of one hundred,
arranged in ten horizontal rows of ten.
The black portion was printed from
line-engraved plates but the colored portions
were, apparently, printed by lithography.
Consequently, three operations
were necessary before the stamps were
completed and, as may readily be understood,
a three color process in such a
small compass made exact register a
matter of difficulty. Thus on many
stamps portions of the Empire are
found much out of place, sometimes
wandering into the sea and sometimes
encroaching in an altogether too familiar
manner on their neighbours. The
new stamps came in for much criticism,
of which the following extract from the
Monthly Journal for January, 1899, is a
fair sample:—

It is not quite an occasion for captious
criticism, and when we get a
beautiful colored map of the world
for a penny perhaps we ought not to
criticise; but we cannot think that the
design is a very appropriate one for
a postage stamp. The blobs of red
are not always quite correctly placed;
we have even heard of cases in which
a little irregularity of “register” has resulted
in the annexation of the greater
part of the United States, while England
invaded France, and the Cape of
Good Hope went out to sea!

The Canadian newspapers are not
quite happy about it, but that is natural,
as they are to pay extra postage
in future to make up any deficiency
in the budget caused by the reduction
in the Imperial rate; we hear that
even a Ministerial organ at Ontario
complains that the new stamp is too
large to lick and too small for wall
paper! Some people are never satisfied.

The color chosen for the sea portion
of the map was lavender at first, but
as this was not considered altogether
appropriate it was soon afterwards
changed to sea-green. In addition to
these two tints it also comes in a very
pronounced blue.

The line-engraved plates from which
the black portion of the design was
printed have four marginal imprints
consisting of AMERICAN BANK
NOTE CO. OTTAWA in Roman capitals
½ mm. high, the whole inscription
being 29 mm. long. These are placed
above the third and eighth stamps of
the top row and below the corresponding
stamps of the bottom row. In addition
a plate number, in hair-line
figures about 4 mm. high, is shown
above the division between the two
central stamps of the top row, these
figures being placed higher on the margin
than the imprints. Mr. Howes tells
us that plates 1, 2, 3, and 5 are known
but that plate 4 does not seem to have
been recorded though, presumably, it
exists. All four plates are known with
the lavender sea and this is known to
indicate the first printings, it would
appear that all the plates were at press
together.

The late Mr. H. L. Ewen wrote an
exhaustive article on the numerous varieties
of this stamp but as most of
these were simply due to errors of register
their philatelic importance is slight.
One variety, however, which is constant
is worthy of note. In this two small
dots representing two islands in mid-pacific
are shown side by side instead of
one above the other as on the normal
stamps. Mr. Ewen also referred to a
slight retouching of one of the plates,
viz.:—

Readers will have noted that the
stamps are each surrounded by what
appears to be a rope. On the sheet
of plate 3 before us, the outer edge
of this rope on the stamps at the end
of each row (right hand side of each
sheet) has worn away and has been
replaced by a straight line engraved
on the plate, except on stamp No. 80,
which still shows the very defective
nature of the rope.

Mr. Howes states that the stamp, with
all three colors for the sea, is known
imperforate.

How many were issued is not known
for certain as these Imperial stamps
were reckoned together with the ordinary
2c in the postal accounts but according
to the London Philatelist the
total issue was about sixteen millions.
In concluding this chapter we have only
to add that the cost of manufacturing
the stamps, on account of the three processes
necessary, was the relatively
high one of 45 cents per thousand.

Chapter XVII. The “2 Cents” Provisionals.

One result of the Imperial Conference
on Postal Rates held in London, in addition
to the inauguration of Imperial
Penny Postage, was to revive the agitation
for the reduction of the domestic
rate on postage in Canada from 3c to 2c
on letters weighing one ounce or less.
Indeed just prior to this Convention a
bill in amendment of the Post Office Act
had been assented to by Parliament
under which it was agreed the reduced
rate of postage should prevail, but no
immediate steps were taken to enforce
the reduction, it being left to the Governor
General to name a date when the
change should take effect. The establishment
of Imperial Penny Postage,
however, brought matters to a head, for
it was a ridiculous state of affairs under
which a charge of 3c had to be levied in
carrying a letter from one town to
another in Canada while 2c would carry
a similar letter (if under half an ounce
in weight) to any point in the British
Isles. Consequently the Governor General
named New Year's Day as the date
when the reduced rate of domestic postage
should come into force as shown by
the following “Order in Council”:—

Post Office Department.

By Proclamation dated the 29th
day of December, 1898, in virtue of
the Act further to amend the Post
Office Act (61 Victoria, Chapter 20)
and of an Order in Council in accordance
therewith, it was declared
that the postage rate payable on all
letters originating in and transmitted
by post for any distance in Canada
for delivery in Canada, should be one
uniform rate of two cents per ounce
weight, from the 1st January, 1899.

The immediate effect of this change
of rates was a vast increase in the demand
for 2c stamps and a corresponding
decrease in the use of the 3c. Also,
to fall in line with Postal Union requirements
a change of color was
necessary, but this did not take place
at once, the postal authorities preferring
to follow their usual precedent of using
up the old stamps first.

The 3c, which had been printed in
large quantities, moved so slowly that
the Post-Office Department decided
that the only way the stock could be
used up within a reasonable time would
be to reduce the stamps to the value of
2c by means of a surcharge. This intention,
as well as a change in the color
of the regular 2c stamps, was set forth
in a circular issued on July 1st, 1899,
from which we extract the following:—

Owing to the reduction in the Domestic
letter rate of postage, the issue
of the 3c letter-card, the 3c
stamped envelope, and the 3c postage
stamp from the Department has
ceased. Any unused 3c letter-cards,
3c stamped envelopes or 3c stamps,
still extant, will, however, continue
available for postal purposes, or may
be exchanged at any Post Office, at
their full face value, for postage
stamps of other denominations.

The color of the Domestic-rate
postage stamp, as prescribed by the
Universal Postal Union, is red, and it
is intended to discontinue the issue of
the ordinary two-cents purple colored
stamps as soon as the present supply
on hand is exhausted. This will be
about the 20th July, 1899. Thereafter
the Department will issue two cents
stamps in red, first, however, surcharging
down to two cents the unissued
remnant of the three cents
stamps in red, now in the possession
of the Department, and as soon as
the supply of such surcharged threes
is exhausted, the issue of two cents
stamps in red will begin. The surcharged
stamps will be issued to Postmasters
as 2c postage stamps and be
recognised as postage stamps of that
denomination.

The official estimate of the time the
then existing stock of 2c purple stamps
would last was not far wrong for on
July 20th the first of the surcharged
labels were issued. The surcharge follows
a somewhat peculiar arrangement
the numeral “2” and “S” of CENTS
being larger than the rest of the inscription,
which is flat at the bottom and
concave at the top. This distinctive
type is said to have been adopted to
make counterfeiting difficult, though it
is hardly likely anyone would have reduced
a 3c stamp to the value of 2c
with the idea of defrauding the Government!
Evidently the inscription was
specially engraved and from it a plate
was constructed so that a sheet of one
hundred stamps could be overprinted at
one operation. Some little variation will
be found in the thickness of the type
of the surcharge though whether this is
due to the use of more than one plate
or simply to overinking or wear is a
doubtful matter. The normal position
of the surcharge is horizontally across
the bottom of the stamps but owing to
poor register it is sometimes found
much out of position, and specimens
with the overprint across the centre of
the labels have been recorded.

The surcharge was, at first, applied
only to the 3c stamps of the numeral
type but it was soon decided to also use
up the unissued remainders of the 3c
“maple-leaf” design by surcharging
them in the same manner. These
stamps were first issued on August 8th.
Both varieties are known with inverted
surcharge. How many of each of these
three cent stamps were surcharged is
not known for certain as the official
figures dealing with the issue of stamps
makes no distinction between the two
varieties. It is stated that altogether
4,120,000 were surcharged and as the
varieties are equally plentiful it is only
reasonable to suppose that approximately
equal numbers of both types were
used up.

Chapter XVIII. The Bi-sected Provisionals.

The somewhat sudden reduction of
the domestic postal rate from 3c to 2c
on single letters led to the production
of a few provisional stamps of peculiar
character at Port Hood, N. S., the postmaster
of that town dividing some of
his 3c stamps into two unequal portions
and using the smaller parts as 1c and
the larger ones as 2c. In the Monthly
Journal for January, 1899, they are referred
to as follows:—

In some offices 1c and 2c stamps
ran short, and their places were supplied
by one-third and two-thirds portions
of 3c stamps divided vertically.
In some places our correspondent
says, these divided stamps were employed
without further alteration, but
in others we regret to hear that they
were surcharged with a figure “2” in
purple, upon the figure “3” of the
larger portion or the word “one” in
green, upon the smaller part; or, to
further complicate matters, when thirds
of two adjoining stamps were used
for 2c each part was impressed with a
figure “2.” Our informant's letter is
franked in part by 2/3 of a 3c stamp
surcharged “2” so we fear that this
horrible tale is founded on fact.

In the same journal for March further
reference is made to these provisionals,
viz.:—

The surcharged fractions appear to
have been used only at Port Hood, N. S.,
where the Postmaster apparently
did not consider it safe to use divided
stamps without some distinguishing
mark. We have seen other copies
since, and find that a figure “1” was
struck upon the smaller portion; not
the word “one” as previously stated.

Again in the April number of the
same paper these split stamps are referred
to:—

In reference to the cut and surcharged
3c stamps, a correspondent
sends us the following extract from
a letter from the postmaster of Port
Hood:—“When the change in Canadian
postage was made—of which we
got notice by wire—I had only a very
few two cent stamps in stock, so that
before I got my supply from Ottawa
I ran completely out of them, and, to
keep my account straight, I was compelled
to cut threes. This was for one
day only, and not over 300 stamps
were cut. I would say about 200 '2'
and 100 '1' were used. About 100 '2'
and probably nearly as many '1' were
marked with the figures '2' and '1' as
you describe, and were placed on letters
for delivery in towns throughout
the Dominion. Those were the only
provisional stamps used by this office.”

Once more, in June, the Monthly Journal
refers to the philatelically notorious
Port Hood office:—

A correspondent tells us that the
surcharged provisionals were not the
first instances of the use of the scissors
at Port Hood, an envelope emanating
from that office and bearing the
half of the 2c stamp, divided diagonally,
having been found with the date
July 27th, 1898. We do not know
what the regulations are in Canada on
the subject of receiving postage in
cash, but we should suppose that if a
postmaster runs out of 1c stamps, receives
postage on certain letters, in
cash, and then, to save an entry in his
accounts, cuts 2c stamps in half and
affixes the halves to the letters, it
would not be considered a very heinous
offence, and it would account for
curiosities of this kind occasionally
turning up.

But Port Hood does not seem to have
been the only office in which the scissors
were used, for the following letter
from the Montreal Philatelist shows
that stamps were bi-sected at at least
one other office. In this instance the
postmaster divided 5c stamps as well as
the 3c though, apparently, he did not
apply any surcharge to the fractions:—

Cross Road, Country Harbor,
April 17th, 1900.

Dear Sir,—Your enquiry re stamps
to hand. At the time you mention the
2c postage was given us so suddenly
that I was about out and all my
neighbour P. M. was also out and as
I could only charge the public 2c I
could not afford to put on a 3c stamp
so cut 3c and 5c to about even the
thing up and sent them along. Three
or four days' letters were mailed in
this way, but I do not know where
they went to.

Yours very truly,

E. S. Sweet, Postmaster.

The same journal in referring to the
Port Hood provisionals makes some interesting
comments which are worth
reproduction, viz.:—

This postmaster must be a relic of
the anti-confederation regime, when
such mutilations were allowed, as even
an entire absence of the required
values would not warrant, under present
regulations, this antiquated process.
In such cases the postmaster
should forward the money to the
office on which his mail is forwarded
with a request to affix the necessary
stamps; he can handstamp or write
the amount paid on each letter if desired,
but that is not necessary. As
these fractional provisionals of the
Port Hood P. O. were never issued
to the public, but were affixed by the
postmaster and the amount paid
stamped on them, they are no more
deserving of collection as postage
stamps than the hand stamp or pen
mark on an envelope would be if no
stamp or portion of a stamp had been
affixed. If it is asked “Why cut up
and affix the stamps then?” the answer
is the postmaster knew no better
and wanted to make his cash
account correspond with the total of
stamps sold and on hand. He tried to
simplify his book-keeping—nothing
more—but went about it in an antiquated
and unlawful way.

While genuine copies of these splits
on original covers are interesting curiosities
their philatelic value is not of
the greatest importance, for they were,
seemingly, never sold to the public but
simply affixed by the postmaster after
he had received payment in cash, to
simplify his accounts. They were certainly
not authorised and if they had
been detected at the larger offices they
would not have passed as valid for
postage.

In concluding our notes with regard
to these cut stamps we reproduce a letter
from the Post Office Department in
reply to a collector who had made
enquiry about the validity of the splits:

P. O. Dept., Ottawa,March 30th, 1904.

In reply to your letter of the 24th
March, re stamps '1' in blue, on 1/3
of 3, and '2' in violet on 2/3 of 3 cents,
I beg to say that the Superintendent
of the Stamp Branch assures me that
no such stamps were ever issued or
recognised by this Department, and if
affixed to letters would be treated as
ordinary mutilated stamps of no value.
It appears that the Postmaster of
Port Hood, N. S., at the time of the
change of rate found himself short
of 2 cents stamps, and, acting on the
advice of some stamp fiend apparently,
cut up a sheet or so of stamps to
make twos and ones. He nearly lost
his job over it, but the Department
never got hold of any of the mutilated
stamps. Anybody could make
similar stamps by cutting up and
marking old threes. Hoping this may
be satisfactory to you,

Yours, etc.,

W. H. Harrington.

Chapter XIX. The 2c Carmine.

According to the Post Office circular
quoted in our last chapter the issue of
the 2c stamp in carmine—or red, as the
color was officially termed—was to begin
when the supply of surcharged 3c
stamps was exhausted. The new 2c
stamp was eventually placed on sale on
August 20th, 1899, and it is, of course,
exactly like the same value previously
issued in purple in all respects except
that of color. The same plates were
used and later many new ones were put
to press. No accurate record of the
different plates used for this denomination
has been kept but, in addition to
plates 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 listed by Mr.
Howes, there were probably many
others.

In 1900 Canada followed the lead of
many other countries by issuing the 2c
value in convenient booklet form. The
Postmaster-General's Report for 1900
refers to these booklets as follows:—

In the month of June, 1900, the department
commenced the issue to
Postmasters, of a small book of 2
cent postage stamps, containing 12
stamps, disposed on two sheets of 6
stamps each, and interleaved with wax
paper to prevent adhesion of the
sheets. The size of the book is such
as to make it convenient to be carried
in the pocket or pocket-book. Printed
on the cover is postal information
calculated to be of interest to the
public. The price at which the book
is issued is 25 cents, one cent over
the face value of the stamps being
charged to cover the cost of binding,
etc.

These stamp books were first placed
on sale on June 11th and they rapidly
came into public favor as is evidenced
by the increasing sales every year since.
Mr. Howes tells us that “the books are
about two by three inches in size, with
stiff cardboard covers which are bound
together by red cloth. The coat-of-arms
of Canada with the words CANADA
POSTAGE beneath are engraved in red
on the front cover, while inside are four
pages of postal information and the two
sheets of six stamps each—three horizontal
pairs—backed by leaves of
paraffined tissue paper.”

Chapter XX. The 20c Value of 1900.

On the 29th of December, 1900, a 20c
value was added to the numeral series,
its advent being quite unannounced.
The large 20c stamps of 1893 had been
finally used up and the new label not
only conformed to the others of the
series in design but also took on a new
color—olive-green in place of scarlet.

It was printed from the usual style
of line-engraved plate with the usual
sheet arrangement of 100 stamps arranged
in ten horizontal rows of ten
each, with the imprint and plate number
in the centre of the top margin.
Only one plate—numbered “1”—seems
to have been used and Mr. Howes tells
us that “an examination of the stamp
accounts during its term of life make it
appear probable that approximately 500,000
were issued.”

Chapter XXI. The Queen Victoria Seven Cents.

Although the reduction in the domestic
rate of postage from 3c to 2c in 1899
made the 8c stamp—which was primarily
intended for the combined payment of
postage and the registration fee—of
little use it was not until December,
1902, that this value was replaced by a
seven cents denomination. The new
stamp was first announced as being in
preparation in a newspaper despatch
dated Ottawa, Dec. 18th, 1902, viz.:—

The Post Office Department announces
that on the 24th instant it
will be in a position to supply a seven
cent postage stamp to accounting post-offices
throughout Canada. This
stamp, which is of yellow color, will
be especially convenient for postage
and registration fee on single rate
letters, while it may also be used for
other postage purposes to the extent
of its face value. Non-accounting
offices can obtain their supply through
the city post offices. This new stamp
will bear the Queen's head, the department
not having yet decided on
the design of the King's head issue.

This posthumous Queen's head stamp
was of similar design to the other values
of the numeral series and had the same
sheet arrangement and marginal inscriptions.
There was but one plate—numbered
“1”—from which Mr. Howes
estimates about one million stamps were
printed.

This stamp was issued on December
23rd, 1902, according to a statement in
the official Report.

Chapter XXII. The King Edward Issue.

King Edward VII ascended the
throne on January 22nd, 1901, but it was
not until nearly two and a half years
later that the Dominion of Canada issued
new stamps bearing the portrait of
the new sovereign. In the meantime
there was much comment and speculation
as to when the new stamps would
appear and as to what form they would
take, though the Post Office Department
for reasons best known to itself, exercised
a discreet silence on the matter.
Early in 1903 it was reported in the
newspapers that designs had been submitted
and that the Postmaster-General
had chosen one “bearing an excellent
likeness of His Majesty.” But the
earliest detailed information concerning
the expected stamps appeared in the
Metropolitan Philatelist for April 18th,
1903, viz:—

The King's head series of Canadian
stamps will probably shortly
make its appearance. The die has
been received by the Post Office Department
and approved of. The
stamp will be very similar to the
present stamp except that the maple
leaf in each of the upper corners
will be replaced by a crown. The
figures of value will appear in the
lower corners as at present and the
value will be spelled out as at present
in the oval frame which surrounds
the portrait. This frame will
be as in the present stamp. The portrait
of the King shows him three-quarters
to the right, head and
shoulders, as the Queen is in the present
stamp, but there is no crown on
his head. The portrait is an exceptionally
nice one and it is understood
that Royalty has had something to do
with its selection. The die was made
in England, although the American
Bank Note Co. are contractors for
the government work.

These details all proved correct and
shortly afterwards postmasters were
given definite information with regard
to the forthcoming stamps by means of
an official circular, dated June 10th, and
worded as follows:—

Postmasters are hereby informed
that a new issue of postage stamps,
bearing the portrait of His Majesty,
King Edward VII., and comprising
five denominations (1c, 2c, 5c, 7c and
10c), is about to be supplied to Postmasters
for sale in the usual way, but
none of these stamps are to be sold
until the first of July, 1903. The
colors of the forthcoming series will
be the same respectively as those now
used for the denominations specified,
except that the shade of the 7c will
be slightly deeper.

Postmasters will please bear in mind
that, notwithstanding the new issue,
they are not to return to the Department
any of the old stamps on hand,
but will sell them in the ordinary way.
At first, the public may prefer getting
new stamps, and if so, there is no objection
to this wish being acceded to,
but it is also desirable to work off in
due course all remnants of old
stamps. A change in the design of
the stamp of the present series of
postcards, post-bands and stamped envelopes,
to correspond with that above
referred to, will be made as soon as
the present stock of these items shall
have been exhausted.

The new King Edward 1c, 2c, 5c, 7c
and 10c stamps were accordingly issued
to the public on Dominion Day (July
1st), 1903.

It will be noted in one of the extracts
quoted above that the die for the new
stamps was engraved in London, and
shortly after the appearance of the
stamps the London Philatelist published
the following article which is of such
interest as to merit its reproduction in
full:—

Although for a long time past we
have been aware of the circumstances
attending the preparation of the new
postage stamps for Canada, and in a
position to illustrate the approved design,
we have refrained from publishing
the facts in compliance with the
desire of the authorities that no details
should be made public until the
stamps have been completed and were
ready to be put into circulation. We
believe that the delay which has taken
place in bringing out the new issue
has been due to questions arising out
of the existing contract under which
the postage stamps of the Dominion
are produced, and that even after the
approval of the design and the receipt
of the die some difficulties were
experienced in connection with the
preparation of the plates by the contractors.

These have happily been surmounted,
and now that the issue is
an accomplished fact it is with much
gratification that we illustrate the design
of the new stamp, our illustration,
prepared some time back, being
taken from a proof from the steel
die engraved by Messrs. Perkins,
Bacon & Co., of London, and used in
the manufacture of the plates of the
several values issued by the Canadian
postal authorities on the 1st instant
By comparing our illustration with the
stamp as issued it will be seen that
the contractors or the postal authorities
have made some alterations in the
design, which, in our judgment, are
by no means improvements. The
leaves in the lower corners have been
redrawn on a smaller scale, and hardly
impinge upon the frame; their drawing
is vastly inferior, and the graceful
effect of the broken circle is lost.
The numerals of value are in color on
a white ground reversing the original
design, the labels being larger and the
figures taller and thinner, this also
detracting materially from the charming
homogeneity of the stamp as first
proposed. The greatest alteration,
and the worst, is the substitution of
heavy diagonal lines for horizontal
ones in the background. The latter
were finely drawn and delicately
shaded, leaving the King's Head in
clear outline, and framed by the dark
oval band containing the inscriptions.
The background and frame no longer
present this artistic effect, and the
whole design materially suffers thereby.

The circumstances connected with
the inception of the issue are as gratifying
as they are novel, and will be
hailed with acclamation by the Philatelists
of the British Empire.

The Postmaster of Canada, Sir William
Mulock, being one of the many
distinguished visitors to this country
during the Coronation festivities, took
the opportunity afforded by his visit
of approaching the Prince of Wales,
and of meeting His Royal Highness's
suggestions and advice in the preparation
of a new die for the Canadian
stamps. The Prince, with his characteristic
energy and courtesy, cheerfully
undertook the task, and it will be
seen from our illustration with absolute
and conspicuous success. H. R. H.
wisely decided, in the first instance,
that it is advisable to have some continuity
of design in succeeding issues,
and therefore adopted the frame and
groundwork of the then current
stamps as a basis. In selecting a portrait
of His Majesty the Prince decided
to rely upon a photograph
giving a true likeness of the King as
we know him, in lieu of an idealised
representation by an artist. The photograph
eventually chosen, with the full
approval of His Majesty, was one
taken shortly before the Coronation.

The likeness is undoubtedly what is
termed a speaking one, and with the
addition of the Coronation robes represents
as faithful and as pleasing a
picture of the King, at the time of his
accession to the throne, as it is possible
to find. The introduction of the
Tudor crowns in the upper angles,
which was another of the Prince's
innovations, obviates the difficulty that
has so often made “the head that
wears a crown” lie “uneasy” on a
postage stamp. These emblems of
sovereignty, taken in conjunction with
the Canadian maple leaves in the
lower angles, completes a design that
for harmony, boldness and simplicity
has assuredly not been excelled by
any hitherto issued stamps of the
British Empire. It is palpable, on
analysing the stamp, (1) that the attractiveness
of the design has in no
way been allowed to militate against
its utility, for the country of origin
and denomination are clearly expressed;
(2) that the boldness of the
design has not been detracted from
(as is so often the case) by superfluous
ornamentation, and that the
design has been artistically balanced
by the introduction of the right-sized
portrait and the proper treatment of
light and shade.

These stamps were, of course, printed
from line-engraved plates like those of
the preceding issues, and the same sheet
arrangement of 100 stamps in ten rows
of ten each was followed. The marginal
imprint shown on the top margin of
each sheet is like that shown on the
Queen's head sheets and the plates for
each value were numbered from 1 upwards.
Mr. Howes records the following
plates as having been used up to
December, 1910:—

5 cents—Nos. 1, 2.

7 cents—No. 1.

10 cents—Nos. 1, 2.

It is very possible other plates were
used for most denominations before the
King George stamps were issued in 1912.
The colors were very similar to those
employed for the corresponding values
of the Queen's head series except as
regards the 7c, which was printed in a
darker and more pleasing shade.

Nearly fifteen months elapsed before
any other King Edward stamps were issued
when, on September 27th, 1904, the
20c denomination made its appearance.
This is of similar design to the others,
was printed from the usual sized plate
of 100, and bore imprint and plate number
in the top margin as before. Only
one plate has been recorded and as the
use of this denomination did not average
over 400,000 a year, it is quite probable
that only this one plate was made. This
value was issued in the olive-green shade
adopted for its predecessor.

More than four years elapsed before
the next and last value of the King
Edward series appeared. This was the
50c denomination, which was placed on
sale on November 19th, 1908, after the
supply of the old blue stamps first issued
in 1893 was finally used up. In design,
sheet arrangement, etc., it conforms with
the others of the series. One plate—numbered
1—was used.

The 2c value of this series is known
entirely imperforate and the history of
the variety, which is now quite common,
is of considerable interest. The imperforate
stamps were first mentioned in
the Weekly for October 10th, 1908, in
the following editorial:—

We are enabled to report the existence
of the two-cent Canada, current
issue, imperforate, a reader having
shown us a sheet of one hundred of
these varieties bearing the plate number
18. This is a discovery of momentous
interest which must attract
much attention not alone from specialists
but from collectors, as we may
say for the sake of distinction, as
well. The fact that the pane bears so
early a plate number removes it from
any inclusion in the theory that the
Canadian authorities propose to issue
stamps in imperforate sheets in the
manner that has been employed by the
United States. Without doubt, the
sheet under notice was regularly prepared
for issue in the accepted way,
and it is the belief from information
at hand that a sheet of four hundred
of the stamps was printed and reached
the public.

This announcement excited much interest
among collectors of Canadian
stamps and enquiry regarding the seeming
irregularity was made of the postal
authorities at Ottawa. The Post Office
Department were convinced that no irregularity
could have occurred, but finally
made an enquiry, and were, of course,
compelled to believe the evidence of the
existence of imperforate specimens. In
the issue of the Weekly for February
20th, 1909, a more complete story of the
find is related, viz.:—

The sheet as found was not of 400
stamps, but of over 200 stamps, as
the right-hand half of the sheet on
which our report was based and which
was not before us when we wrote,
contained a pane of 100 stamps, plate
number 14 and an irregularly torn
part of plate number 13, showing
about fifteen whole stamps and parts
of others. Assuming that the lower
pane in the left half was torn approximately
in the manner of the right
lower pane, or plate number 13, the
find consisted originally of 230 stamps,
more or less. This reckoning agrees,
we believe, with the recollection of
the person who rescued the imperforates
from oblivion, in a philatelic
sense. The plate numbers on the sheet
that gave authority for the chronicling
of the stamps by the Weekly are 13
and 14, and not 18, as first printed.

A. N. Lemieux of Chicago is the
man who found the stamps. While in
Ottawa five years ago or so (this was
later corrected to June, 1906), when
he was in business in that city, he
saw the stamps just within the iron
fence that has been described as surrounding
the establishment of the
bank note company that prints the
Canadian stamps. The day was a
rainy one and the sheet had evidently
been blown out of the window. Mr.
Lemieux apparently attached no value
to the sheet of over 200 stamps, which
was in a wet, crumpled condition, and
without gum. Mr. Lemieux was under
the impression, no doubt, that
gum had been on the sheet but had
been washed off by the rain.

Mr. Severn ultimately acquired what
was left of this imperforate sheet, and
later submitted the stamps to the officials
at Ottawa, who pronounced them but
“printer's waste”. Mr. Severn, in adding
to the history of these imperforates,
says:—

They seemingly had been trampled
upon and subjected to the usage that
would be given such castoff material.
Further, it was said that they had been
blown or thrown out of a window, no
doubt. It was suggested that the
stamps be returned to Ottawa and that
there were moral grounds for such a
course on the part of the holders.
The description of “printer's waste”
seems to be correct and the inference
is that the stamps never had been
gummed. They belong to that class of
curiosities that appeal strongly to the
specialist, but which the ordinary collector
regards as something apart
from his collecting policy.

The stamps did not go back to Ottawa,
and the postal authorities there
annoyed, doubtless righteously, that such
things should escape from their well
regulated printing establishment went to
considerable trouble to make the imperforates
of small monetary value.
The following paragraph, written by a
correspondent of the Weekly, was the
first inkling collectors had that the department
had thought any more of the
matter:—

It may be of interest to know that
the last supplement to the Canadian
Post Office Guide contains the following:
“In view of representations
which have been made to the Department,
it has been decided to permit
the sale of the 2-cent denomination of
Canadian postage stamps of the current
issue, in sheets of 100, without the
usual perforation.” I at once asked
for a sheet of the 2-cent, and incidentally
said I would take a sheet of
the other denominations if available.
A reply came today informing me
that only the 2-cent would be available,
and then not for some time, as
the department intends to make a
separate printing of these stamps, to
supply whatever demand may occur.

It was stipulated that applications for
these imperforate stamps should be
made to the Postmaster at Ottawa.
When the sheets of these stamps came
into collectors' hands it was found they
had been printed from plates 13 and 14—the
same as those from which the originally
chronicled “errors” were printed. It is
obvious that the Department issued
these stamps simply to “get back” at
the holder of the sheet so unfortunately
blown or thrown out of the printing-office
window in 1906. That they were
not intended for use in mailing machines
seems amply proved from the fact that
none of the 2c stamps of the present
issue have been issued in imperforate
sheets.

No ½c value was issued in the King
Edward design although the Queen's
head stamp of that denomination continued
in use until 1909. This value was
primarily intended for use in prepaying
the postage on transient newspapers,
but for many years the number sold to
the public was out of all proportion to
those which could have been required
for its legitimate use. There is no doubt
that large quantities were purchased by
stamp dealers for wholesaling to packet
makers and dealers in the cheap approval
sheet business and, undoubtedly,
stamp collectors in Canada usually preferred
to use four ½c stamps on their
letters rather than an ordinary 2c one.
This excessive demand for the ½c resulted
in the Post Office Department
issuing the following circular to Postmasters
in 1902:—

The attention of postmasters is
drawn to the fact that the postal
necessity for the ½c stamp, as such,
is now confined to one purpose—prepayment
of newspapers and periodicals
posted singly, and weighing not more
than one ounce each. As publications
of the kind referred to must, in the
nature of things, be few, and as in the
case of their being mailed to subscribers
by the office of publication,
the bulk rate of postage would be
far cheaper and more convenient for
the publisher, the demand for the ½c
stamp throughout the Dominion must
be appreciably diminished as a result
of this restriction of its use. While,
of course, any number of ½c stamps
on an article of correspondence will
be recognized to the full extent of their
aggregate face value, it is not the
wish of the Department to supply
them except for the sole specific purpose
above mentioned, and an intimation
to that effect should be given by
postmasters to patrons of their office
who are in the habit of buying ½-cent
stamps for other postal purposes.

This circular had quite an effect on the
use of ½c stamps, for only about one-third
as many were used in the year
following the publication of the circular.
Finally, on May 19th, 1909, the Post
Office Act was amended so that the
special rate on newspapers was repealed
and the minimum postage on any single
piece of mail became 1c. This did away
for the necessity of ½c stamps and, of
course, discounted any further possibility
of the value being included in the
King's head series.

Chapter XXIII. The Quebec Tercentenary Issue.

The year 1908 marked the three hundredth
anniversary of the first permanent
settlement in Canada, made by
Champlain at Quebec in 1608, and plans
were formed to celebrate the event in a
fitting manner by means of fêtes, historical
pageants, etc. In fact, the occasion
was considered of such importance that
the then Prince and Princess of Wales
(now King George V of England and
his Royal Consort) were invited to be
present at the festivities, and they made
a special journey in one of Britain's
most formidable battleships.

Quite early it was rumoured that the
Post Office Department would mark the
event, as in Diamond Jubilee year, by
the issue of a series of special stamps,
and though in March the Hon. Rudolphe
Lemieux, who was then Postmaster-General,
announced that such an issue
would assuredly be made, the Department
exercised the greatest reticence
as to what values would be included in
the series, and what subjects would
form the designs. Naturally the Department
was inundated with all sorts
of suggestions, more or less appropriate
to the occasion, but, apparently, the
“powers that be” had their plans already
made and it was not until a few days
before the stamps were ready for use
that any information was made public
regarding the series. The Toronto
Globe for July 4th printed the following
despatch from its Ottawa correspondent:—

Postmaster-General Lemieux has
given instructions to issue a series
of postage stamps commemorating
the tercentenary. They are eight in
number. Four of them bear portraits
of persons dear to Canada, or whose
names recall great events. The first
represents the Prince and Princess of
Wales; the second the King and
Queen. Next come Cartier and
Champlain, and then, in connection
with the battlefields park scheme, Wolfe
and Montcalm. The second part of
the issue represents Cartier's arrival
before Quebec. On the calm waters of
the mighty St. Lawrence stand in bold
relief three ships of the discoverer of
Canada, flying the fleur-de-lys.

As a sequel to the above is a very
picturesque tableau. In Champlain's
narrative of his third voyage to Canada
is found the following passage:—

“With our canoes laden with provisions,
our arms and some merchandise
to be given as presents to the
Indians, I started on Monday, May
27, from the isle of Sainte Helaine,
accompanied by four Frenchmen and
one Indian. A salute was given in my
honour from some small pieces of
artillery.”

The artist, under the inspiration of
these few lines, has depicted Champlain's
departure for the west. There
stand two canoes. In one Champlain's
companions have already taken
their places, paddle in hand, whilst
the great explorer is still on shore,
bidding good-bye to a few friends.
The picture is full of life. The legend
underneath reads as follows:
“Partement de Champlain pour
L'ouest.” The word “partement”,
now obsolete, is the one used by
Champlain for the modern one
“depart”.

The same note of old France is
used in connection with a view of
the first house in Quebec, indeed in
Canada, Champlain's habitation, which
is called in his narrative “l'abitation de
Quebécq”. This stamp is a clear reproduction
of a cut from Champlain's
work. Quebec as it was in 1700 is the
next view, copied from Bacqueville de
la Potherie's “Histoire de la Nouvelle
France”. It is a quaint picture of the
old city, showing steeples here and
there, the fort on the river front and
in faint lines the Laurentide Mountains
in the background.

All stamps bear with the words
“CANADA POSTAGE” the line “IIIe
centénaire de Quebec”.

The postmaster-general has given
special attention to the selection of
portraits and historical scenes to be
represented. His choice has been an
excellent one.

The carrying out of the engraving
part of the plan has been entrusted
to Mr. Machado, of the American
Bank Note Co., who, with keen artistic
sense, has performed his part of
the work with great success.

In the same newspaper of the same
date appears another despatch giving
particulars of the designs alloted to each
denomination and the chosen colors
viz:—

The special postage stamps to be issued in commemoration of the
tercentenary celebration at Quebec are now ready, and will be
placed on sale next week. The stamps are of most artistic design,
and are larger than the ordinary size, to allow of adequate
representation of historic scenes, portraits, etc. The description
of each denomination is as follows:—

Half-cent, grey, picture of the Prince and Princess of Wales.

One-cent, green, portraits of Champlain and Cartier.

Two-cent, red, King Edward and Queen Alexandria.

Five-cent, blue, representation of L'Habitation de Quebec.

Seven-cent, yellow, pictures of Montcalm and Wolfe.

Ten-cent, mauve, picture of Quebec in 1700.

Fifteen-cent, orange, picture of the Parliament of the West in the
old regime.

Twenty-cent, green, picture of a courier du sois with Indians.

The stamps were placed on sale on
July 16th and, as will be noted from our
illustrations, they are as described
above except that the 15c does not have
Champlain's name on it as stated in the
first quotation, and that the 15c and 20c
are incorrectly described in the second
despatch. The stamps are of similar
shape to the special series issued in
Diamond Jubilee year though they are
a trifle larger—1 mm. taller and nearly
3 mm. longer. The Postmaster-General's
Report for 1909 referred to this
issue as follows:—

To meet what appeared to be a
general wish a special series of postage
stamps, which has come to be
known as the Tercentenary Series,
was introduced as a feature of the
celebration in July, 1908, of the three
hundredth anniversary of the founding
of Quebec by Champlain. The
first supply of these stamps was sent
out to Postmasters about the middle
of that month, and was on sale to the
public by the time His Royal Highness,
the Prince of Wales, reached Quebec
for the celebration. The demand for
the new stamps was extraordinary,
and for the better part of a month
was steadily kept up. The interest
taken in them was, in no small measure,
due to the historic associations
with which in design they were so
happily linked, the subjects depicted
in the several denominations of the
series being in variety and appropriateness
admirably adapted to the
end in view,—popular recognition of
an epoch-making event.

Except as regards the Postal Union
denominations of 1c, 2c and 5c the
colors chosen for the stamps of this
series do not correspond with those of
the regular set. The stamps were produced
by the line-engraved process,
which has long been the standard
method of production for Canada's
stamps, and as usual they were issued
in sheets of one hundred in ten rows
of ten. It seems probable that the plates
for the 2c, and possibly for the 1c also,
consisted of two panes of 100 stamps
each placed one above the other. This
seems to be proved from the fact that,
whereas on most sheets the imprint
“OTTAWA” followed by the plate
number, appears in the centre of the
top margin, sheets of the 2c are known
with the imprint in the centre of the
bottom margin, and in the case of
plates 3 and 4 both imprint and number
are inverted. The inversion on
these particular plates was, probably,
purely accidental. But though these
large plates were used the stamps were
always issued in the usual sheet size
of 100. The following plates are
known to have been used:—

½c

dark brown. No. 1.

1c

blue-green, Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4.

2c

carmine, Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4.

5c

dark blue, Nos. 1, 2.

7c

olive-green, No. 1.

10c

dark violet, No. 1.

15c

red-orange, No. 1.

20c

yellow brown. No. 1.

The stamps were all printed on the
usual white wove paper and were perforated
12, though specimens of the 2c
are known entirely imperforate. Fairly
well marked shades may be found in
connection with the 1c and 2c denominations
but the other values show but
very slight differences.

The royal portraits on the ½c and 2c
values call for little comment, though
it is interesting to note that the portrait
of the Princess of Wales (now Queen
Mary) is exactly similar to that shown
on the 4c stamp of Newfoundland which
was first issued in 1901. The picture
of the Prince of Wales (now His
Majesty King George V) was from a
photograph by W. & D. Downey, of
London, taken just prior to his journey
to India in 1906.

The portrait of Jacques Cartier on
the 1c is precisely like that which appears
on Canada's first 10d stamp. In
Gibbons' Stamp Weekly for January
16th, 1909, the following interesting account
of Cartier's voyage appears:—

In the year 1533 Jacques Cartier
was empowered by Philipp Cabot,
“the Admiral of France,” to fit out
ships “to explore new territories, to
gain them, by robbery or otherwise,
for France, and at the same time to
endeavour to find a north-west passage
to Cathay”. As long before as
1506 the Florentine explorer, Giovanni
Verozzani, had seized the territories
of North America lying to the north
of the St. Lawrence River in the
name of the King of France, but the
seizure had never been enforced, and
remained a seizure only in name.

On this, his first voyage, Cartier
discovered Newfoundland, and, sailing
on, anchored off the northerly
coast of the Gaspé Peninsula, by
which the River St. Lawrence sweeps
into the gulf of the same name. The
season was very late, however, and
bad weather was to be expected, so
Cartier was obliged to set sail for
France without delay. He took with
him to France two sons of an Indian
chief, and they caused great excitement
in Paris.

King Francis I was so pleased with
this exploit that on October 31, 1534,
he nominated Captain Jacques Cartier
to be “Royal Pilot” (Pilote
Royale), and had three more ships
prepared for him to make a second
voyage to Newfoundland. Preparations
for the departure were hurried
on at St. Malo, Cartier's birthplace,
and at the beginning of May all was
ready for the departure.

Three ships took part in the voyage,
viz.: La Grande Hermione, La
Petite Hermione, and La Hermionette.
The first two were vessels rated
at 120 and 80 tons respectively, and
the last was a galleon of 40 tons. On
the after part of the first two vessels
there were no less than three decks
as superstructure, while forward
there was only one deck. They were
provided with the full naval armament
of the sixteenth century; on the
gunwale were mounted small cannon,
and also a battery of mortars or
similar weapons.

The galleon was a long slender
ship of extremely low freeboard,
rakish rigged as a single-master, both
sails and oars being used as a means
of propulsion; two small cannon were
mounted forward, and a round dozen
arquebuses were also carried. The
total company and passengers of the
three ships were only 110 all told.

On the morning of May 19th, 1535,
the little flotilla set forth on its long
voyage of exploration after having
saluted the town with every gun on
board.

On September 14th of the same
year Cartier sighted land, which
spread itself out on either side of the
ships as far as the eye could reach, and
found signs of a village; the place
was called Canada by the natives, the
meaning of the word in the native
language being “The Town”. This
village was the seat of “government”,
and was occupied by an Indian chief
called Donnacona; it was situate
right on the shore of the bay formed
by the junction of the rivers St.
Charles and St. Lawrence. The village
seemed to consist of huts built
irregularly on the steep sides of a
mountain, the spot later being the
position of the southerly and easterly
quarters of Quebec.

The historical moment of the arrival
of Cartier's brave little “fleet” is interestingly
depicted on the 20c value of
the tercentenary series. Samuel de
Champlain, whose portrait is also shown
on the 1c denomination, was born in
1570 and died in 1635. Again we are
indebted to the article in Gibbons' Stamp
Weekly for the following particulars:—

In 1603 he was commissioned by
King Henry IV of France to found a
settlement in Canada. On his first
voyage he sailed up the St. Lawrence,
and established friendly relations
with the various native chiefs of the
tribes inhabiting the country through
which the river flowed. On his second
voyage he was accompanied by only
thirty people, and on July 3rd, 1608, he
landed at the village of Canada,
which was mentioned above. His
first thought was to find a site suitable
for the erection of an “abitation”
where he might pass the winter that
was coming on. “I could find no
more comfortable or better spot than
the land around Quebec, where
countless nut trees were to be seen,”
wrote Champlain. That was exactly
the same place where Cartier had
built his fort sixty years before.

Thanks to extreme industry, winter
quarters were rapidly erected. The
habitation consisted of three principal
buildings, each two stories high. Two
of these buildings measured 18 ft.
long by 9 ft. wide, and the third, used
as a storehouse, was 36 ft. long by 18
ft. wide and had a large cellar. In
the first building Champlain lived
with a few of the workmen in the
lower story; in the other the remaining
workpeople lived, and had with
them the arms and ammunition of the
whole party. An annexe was attached
to one of the buildings, and it
was used as a smithy; a few of the
people also slept there. The whole of
the buildings were enclosed by a
trench or moat 15 ft. wide and 9 ft.
deep, to protect the settlers from the
ravages of wild beasts.

Champlain had earthworks thrown
up on the inner side of the moat, on
which cannons were mounted. Between
the encampment and the river
there remained a strip only 24 ft.
wide; and behind, on the side of the
mountain, there was a plot of arable
land a little more than 100 ft. long and
60 ft. wide, where Champlain had corn
sown and vines planted.

This “abitation” is shown on the 5c
value of the series, while on the 10c is
shown the city of Quebec as it had
grown by 1700 from such small and
modest beginnings.

In the following May Champlain decided
to explore the river and his departure
on this momentous journey is
depicted on the 15c stamp.

On the 7c denomination are portraits
of the two famous generals, Montcalm
and Wolfe, both of whom were killed
fighting each other on the heights of
Quebec. Again, to quote from the
article in Gibbons' Stamp Weekly:—

So early as 1628 Quebec was captured
by the English, in spite of
Champlain's brave defence; but Canada
was restored to France by one of
the terms of the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye,
which was concluded
in 1632. Richelieu at once sent
Champlain back to Quebec as Governor-General
of Canada.

Twice more, in 1690 and 1711, the
English besieged Quebec, but they
were not able to capture the town.
But in 1759 General James Wolfe was
ordered by Pitt to clear the French
right out of Canada. The French
troops were under the command of
Marquis Ludwig Joseph Montcalm, of
Saint-Veran. Although the latter was
in command of only a small force, he
was able to claim several victories,
but finally he was besieged in Quebec
by General Wolfe, at the head of
30,000 men. He was obliged to give
battle under unequal conditions, and
on September 13th was mortally
wounded at the battle of the Heights
of Abraham and died two days later.
The victorious English general was
also killed in the same battle.

The names of both these leaders,
enemies though they were, have
graven themselves inseparably on the
memories of the inhabitants of Quebec.
In 1827 the Governor of
Canada, Lord Dalhousie, erected a
marble monument to their memory,
on which is a Latin inscription, which
may be rendered freely thus:—

No advance information was published
as to the numbers printed of the
several values in the series, as in the
case of the Jubilee set, so that little
attempt at cornering any particular
values was made by speculators. True,
large quantities of the ½c value were
bought up by people who imagined it
would be as rare as the corresponding
value of the Jubilee stamps, but as
there were two million of these they
did not turn out to be the gold-mine it
was fondly imagined they would. By
September, 1908, all values except the
10c, 15c and 20c had been exhausted
and by the end of October these three
values were sold out as well. The
numbers issued were later given out by
the Postmaster-General in answer to
two questions propounded to him in the
House of Commons by Mr. Perley, a
member. The Canadian Hansard gives
this data as follows:—

1.—What was the total amount received
by the Post Office Department
from the sale of the special Tercentenary
stamps? 2.—What part of
this sum would probably have been
received as ordinary revenue if there
had been no special issue of stamps?

To these questions the Hon. Rudolphe
Lemieux, Postmaster-General,
responded: The following was the
issue to Postmasters of the Tercentenary
postage stamps:

Denominations.

Quantities.

Value.

½ cent

2,000,000

$10,000

1 cent

22,530,000

$225,300

2 cent

35,100,000

$702,000

5 cent

1,200,000

$60,000

7 cent

700,000

$49,000

10 cent

500,000

$50,000

15 cent

300,000

$45,000

20 cent

304,200

$60,840

Totals

62,634,200

$1,202,140

The department has no knowledge
whether the stamps in question have
all been sold, as during their issue
the ordinary postage stamps were also
on sale, both issues being in use as
preferred by the public. The proceeds
derived from the sale of stamps
of the two issues were not kept separately,
but treated as arising from a
common source. It is, therefore, impossible
to state to what extent the
issue of the Tercentenary postage
stamps may have affected the ordinary
revenue.

The fact that the Prince of Wales was
an ardent stamp collector resulted in
the presentation to him of a specially
mounted set as shown by the following
paragraph from the Weekly:—

As the Prince of Wales is an enthusiastic
collector of stamps, His
Royal Highness will no doubt be very
pleased to receive the set of the special
tercentenary stamps which will
be presented to him at Quebec. The
stamps will be held in small gold
boxes, enclosed in a handsome large
box of Morocco leather. A second
set accompanies the gift in a special
gold box, on the cover of the large
box is the Prince's crest and a gold
plate inscribed as follows: “Set of
Canadian postage stamps issued upon
the occasion of the Quebec tercentenary,
1908. Presented to His Royal
Highness the Prince of Wales by Hon.
Rudolphe Lemieux, Postmaster-General
of Canada.” Sets of these
stamps, in boxes with appropriate
crests and monograms, will be presented
to Earl Grey, Sir Wilfred
Laurier and Hon. Rudolphe Lemieux.

Chapter XXIV. The King George Stamps.

On May 6th, 1910, King George V succeeded
to the throne but the Dominion
of Canada did not take steps towards
issuing a series of stamps bearing the
portrait of the new monarch until some
time later. The 1c and 2c denominations
were recorded in the Monthly Journal for
January, 1912, so they were doubtless on
sale on the 1st day of that month. The
other values—5c, 7c, 10c, 20c and 50c—were
placed on sale very soon afterwards
and we believe the full series was in
circulation before the end of January.

The new stamps form a highly attractive
set and they are without question
the handsomest set of “George” stamps
issued by any of the British Colonies.
The portrait, which shows His Majesty
in an admiral's uniform, three-quarter
face to left, is, as the Monthly Journal
states “the best portrait of King George
that has yet appeared on stamps.” The
portrait is contained within an oval
above which the words CANADA
POSTAGE are curved in bold sans-serif
capitals. Below is the value ONE
CENT, etc., in words while in each of
the lower angles the value is shown in
figures on a plain square as in the case
of the King Edward stamps. In the
upper corners are crowns, again like the
King Edward labels, but the treatment
of the stamp as a whole is widely dissimilar.
The portrait oval is smaller
than before so that in place of the
almost microscopical maple leaves
shown on the King Edward stamps we
now find a spray of these leaves, beautifully
drawn, in each of the lower
spandrels.

The stamps were printed in sheets
of 100 as before with the usual arrangement
of marginal imprint and plate numbers.
No record seems to have been
made of the plates but that a very large
number of the 2c at any rate were used
is obvious from the high numbers
found.

The 1c and 2c values show a number
of prominent shades. Just a month
after the stamps were first chronicled the
Monthly Journal noted that the 1c
existed in two distinct shades—“yellow-green
and blue-green”. In October, 1912,
the same journal mentioned the receipt
of the 5c “in a very markedly altered
shade, deep ultramarine instead of the
previous deep indigo”, while in January,
1913, we read of two very pronounced
shades of the 2c—bright carmine and
dull rose-red—in addition to the usual
rose-carmine tint. In November, 1913,
this denomination was noted in still another
striking shade described as “almost
carmine-lake”.

In the February, 1913, issue of the
Philatelic Gazette reference is made to
these shades and other varieties as follows:—

Collectors of shades should not fail to secure before it is too
late, the interesting series of such varieties in the current King
George series of Canada. In the 1 cent stamp four distinct shades
are noted and in the 2 cent value no less than ten distinct shades
from a pale carmine rose to deep carmine and from a real brick red
to a reddish-brown or sienna red.

Several “errors” or “freaks of printing” have appeared, mostly in
the early impressions, caused probably by the rush and push of the
printers in trying to meet the large demand. I have noted the
following and believe they will be of interest to collectors:

1 Cent.—An accent between CANADA and POSTAGE; also accents
between N and D of CANADA.

2 Cent.—The same varieties may be found on the 2 cent stamp
printed from plate one.

2 Cent.—On plate two there appeared on the 97th stamp on the plate
a marked accent on the C of CENTS.

2 Cent.—In February, 1912, some few sheets were issued, having the
red horizontal guide lines running across the stamps. These were
printed from unfinished plates from which the guide lines had not
been removed. They are easily distinguished, having the lines about
2 millimeters apart running across every stamp on the sheet. The
lines are very plain where they run through the figures of
value.—C. L. P.

The variety last described is a very
interesting one which may also be found
in connection with the 1c denomination.
To term them guide-lines and prints
from “unfinished plates” is, however,
quite incorrect. Such guide-lines as are
marked on a plate are only placed vertically
or horizontally to correspond with
the top or bottom or one of the sides of
the stamp design. The lines, which we
are now considering, appear comparatively
close together though they are not
equi-distant, as the above description
would lead us to imagine, nor are they
always parallel or straight. They are
undoubtedly due to some inherent defects
in the plates. Possibly, in the rush
to finish sufficient plates to cope with
the demand for the new stamps some
of them were hardened too quickly with
the result that the surfaces cracked.
These defective plates were certainly
among the earliest ones used and judging
by the scarcity of the stamps showing
these peculiarities they were not in
use long before they were discarded.

The 1c and 2c values of this series
were issued in coil form for use in automatic
vending machines. These were
first issued in November, 1912, perf. 8
vertically and imperforate at top and
bottom. In October, 1913, the 1c was
issued perf. 8 horizontally and imperforate
at the sides and shortly afterwards
the 2c appeared in the same way. These
coil stamps show quite a number of distinct
shades. The 1c in coil form was
also issued with the 12 perforation at
top and bottom and imperforate at the
sides.

Chapter XXV. The War Tax Stamps.

One result of the European war was
that Canada, in common with many
other countries, had to impose special
taxes. The Hon. W. T. White, Minister
of Finance, outlined the various
tariff changes and special taxes in the
House of Commons, Ottawa, on February
11th, 1915, and a resume of the
chief items in the new “budget” was
published in the Weekly for Feb. 7th
as follows:—

The tariff changes went into effect
at the time of the announcement.
The special tax on wine and champagne
goes into effect at once. The
other special taxes take effect at a
date to be yet fixed. The stamp tax
on letters means that the old 3 cent
postage rate is restored, and a city
letter costs 2 cents.

There is to be no income tax.

The following are some of the items
of taxation:—

One cent on telegraph and cable
messages.

Five cents for every five dollars on
railroad and steamboat tickets.

Ten cents on sleeping car and five
cents on parlor car tickets.

One to three dollars per passenger
from steamboat companies carrying to
ports other than in Canada, Newfoundland,
the United States of
America, and British West Indies.

Two cents on all bank checks, receipts
and bills of exchange, express
and post-office orders.

One cent on postal notes.

One cent (war stamp) on each letter
and postcard.

Five cents per quart on non-sparkling
wines sold in Canada, and twenty-five
cents per pint on champagne and
sparkling wines.

One cent on each twenty-five cents
retail price of proprietary articles.

The only tax that has interest to us as
philatelists is the one cent impost on all
letters and postcards. This came into
effect on April 15th, 1915, and special
stamps were issued for the purpose.
These are the regular 1c postage stamps
of the King George series with the
words “WAR TAX”, in two lines, in
large colorless block capitals between
the portrait and the value. As this stamp
collected a tax on letters and postcards
it will undoubtedly be considered collectible
by the most advanced of the
philatelic purists. A 2c value was also
issued in this type and while this was
primarily intended for use on money
orders, checks, etc., it was also quite
frequently used for postage. In fact
there seems to have been no necessity
for these special stamps, for so long as
a letter had 3c postage on it (or 2c in
the case of drop letters) the law was
fully complied with.

That both the 1c and 2c values were
good for postage is proved by the following
letter addressed to Mr. Gladstone
Perry in answer to an enquiry by him:—

Post Office Department, Canada,

Ottawa, 22nd April, 1915.

Dear Sir:—

I am directed to acknowledge the
receipt of your favour of the 19th inst.
on the subject of War Tax Stamps.

In so far as the Post Office Department
is concerned, the War Tax
Stamps have only been issued in two
denominations, namely:—the one cent
and two cent.

The Two Cent War Tax Stamp may
be used on money orders, cheques,
notes and wherever else the tax on
that amount is applicable.

I would also add that ordinary postage
stamps may also be used to pay
the War Tax and that Post Office
War Tax Stamps are available for
postage purposes.

Very sincerely yours,

E. J. Lemaire, Superintendent,Postage Stamp Branch.

It was considered, however, that a
stamp which would pay both postage
and tax would be a great convenience
to the public and in December, 1915, a
stamp of this sort was issued. The
official announcement regarding these
was as follows:—

Post Office Department, Canada,

Ottawa, December 30th, 1915.

Sir:—I have the honor to enclose
three specimens of a stamp which this
Department is issuing for postage and
War Tax purposes, having a value of
three cents. This is an ordinary two
cent postage stamp surcharged as follows:
1 T c (one cent tax). This has
been issued in response to the demand
of the public for a stamp having the
value of three cents so that postage
and War Tax might be paid by affixing
one stamp. This stamp is of
permanent validity.

I have the honor to be, Sir,

Your obedient servant,

R. M. Coulter,Deputy Postmaster-General.

The new stamps were printed from engraved
plates as usual from a special
die adapted from the ordinary 2 cent
stamp. Upon the King's coat, immediately
below the portrait but within the
portrait oval, is engraved a capital “T”
beneath the left branch of which is the
numeral “1”, and beneath the right
branch the letter “c” for cent. These
presumably came into general use on
January 1st, 1916.

Sometime in July or August, 1916, this
special 3c stamp was reported as existing
with a perforation of 12 at top and bottom
and 8 at the sides. It was generally
presumed these were stamps from
sheets which had been originally intended
for coil use and this was confirmed
in a letter sent to a correspondent
from the Superintendent of the Postage
Stamp Branch at Ottawa, viz.:—

The explanation of this lies in the
simple fact that owing to quick deliveries
of this stamp being required
by the Department, the manufacturers
were obliged to use part of stock
which had been prepared for roll
postage and perforated sidewise with
the wide perforation. These sheets
were then perforated endwise with
the regular perforation and issued.

It is said that 50,000 of these stamps
were supplied to the Montreal Post-office
but whether this represents the
total quantity issued or not we cannot
say.

As this 3c tax stamp was in the same
color as the ordinary 2c label much confusion
resulted and the advantage of
issuing the stamp in a distinctive color
was ultimately considered by the Post
Office Department. Rumours that the
color would be changed began to circulate
early in September, 1916, and shortly
afterwards the stamp made its appearance
in an attractive brown color. The
new stamp was apparently distributed
late in August and postmasters were instructed
not to issue it until all stocks
of the old 3c in carmine had been sold.
The circular dealing with this matter is
worded as follows:—

Post Office Department, Canada,

Ottawa, 28th August, 1916.

Two-Cent Surcharged Postage and War Tax Stamp.

The Postmaster will please observe
that the 2c Surcharged Postage and
War Tax stamps, herewith enclosed,
are printed in BROWN instead of in
RED, as formerly. In future these
stamps will be issued in the colour
mentioned so as to overcome the difficulty
experienced owing to the similarity
in colour to the ordinary 2c
stamp.

Before offering to the public any of
the new stamps it is very desirable
that the old stock he entirely sold.

R. M. Coulter,
Deputy Postmaster-General.

Chapter XXVI. A Proposed Commemorative Series.

Before concluding our notes regarding
the postage stamps proper of Canada it
will be as well to make brief reference
to a proposed commemorative series
which, fortunately or unfortunately as
one views these special sets, never eventuated.
Early in 1914 proposals were
on foot to celebrate the one hundredth
anniversary of the birth of Sir George
Etienne Cartier by the issue of a series
of stamps of distinctive designs. Cartier
was a famous Canadian premier
who was born in Lower Canada in 1814.
Becoming attorney-general for Lower
Canada in 1856, he was called to form
the Cartier-Macdonald ministry in 1858.
After the fall of his ministry he again
became attorney-general in 1864. A
fearless and upright leader, and a good
orator, he did much for the moulding
of a united Canada. He is also famed
as a writer of French lyrics, which were
published in 1875, two years after his
death. Whether the stamps ever got
beyond the proposal stage is a moot
point but at any rate a list of chosen
subjects was published, viz.:—

1 cent, Portraits of King George and
Queen Mary.

2 cents, The Cartier Monument.

5 cents, Cartier's birthplace.

7 cents, Portrait of the Prince of
Wales.

10 cents, Victoria Bridge, inaugurated
by Cartier.

It was at one time definitely announced
that the stamps would be placed on sale
on June 15th but a correspondent making
enquiry at headquarters was informed
that “the Department is not yet
decided to sell the Cartier stamps.”

As the stamps still failed to make an
appearance a firm of English stamp
dealers wrote to the Canadian Post-Office
department for information and
received the following reply:—

Post Office Department, Canada.

Office of the Superintendent
of the Postage Stamp Branch.Ottawa, 29th June, 1914.

Dear Sirs:—I beg to acknowledge
the receipt of your favor addressed to
the late Mr. Stanton, and in which
you ask information with reference to
the proposed issue of stamps to commemorate
the centenary of Sir George
Etienne Cartier. The information
which you have received from outside
sources is not only premature, but
inaccurate in several details, and I
can only say that although it is possible
that these stamps may be issued
during the course of the next few
months the whole question is still
under the consideration of the Department.

Yours very sincerely,

E. J. Lemaire, Superintendent.

Finally, owing very probably to the
war, it was decided not to issue this
special series of stamps.

Chapter XXVII. Official Stamps.

Canada has never issued special postage
stamps for use on departmental correspondence
but in November, 1884, a
German paper,—Der Philatelist—on the
advice of a correspondent, chronicled a
series for official use. These were said
to consist of the ordinary adhesives, two
envelopes and a post card surcharged
with the word OFFICIAL in black. To
quote from the Philatelic Record:—“It is
alleged that they were prepared and issued
in 1877, but after a short time were
called in again. The surcharges are in
some cases oblique, and in others perpendicular.
It is at least strange that,
considering our intercourse with Canada,
our first knowledge of the issue of official
stamps so far back as 1877 should
reach us from Temesvar, wherever that
may be”.

Doubts were, naturally, expressed on
all sides with regard to the authenticity
of these labels and a letter addressed
to Ottawa on the subject resulted in the
following reply:—

Post Office Department, Canada,

Ottawa, 18th May, 1885.

Sir:—I am directed by the Postmaster-General
to acknowledge receipt
of your letter of the 29th ult.,
enquiring whether postage stamps
bearing the word “Official” on their
face are in circulation in the Dominion
of Canada, and beg, in reply, to say
that no such stamp, card, newspaper
wrapper, or envelope has ever been
issued by this Department. I am, sir,
your obedient servant,

(Signed) Wm. White, Secretary.

Two years later, in April, 1887, after
this canard had been satisfactorily disposed
of another set of alleged official
stamps was referred to in the Philatelic
Record as follows:—

Mr. Hechler sent to the Transvaal
correspondent of Major Evans a set
of Canadian stamps surcharged
SERVICE, and he certainly vouched
for the authenticity of the Royal arms
and supporters, with the word SERVICE
on some Canadian envelopes,
which he declared had been issued to
the troops that were sent out in the
Indian rebellion in 1885, and with
whom Mr. Hechler was serving. This
rebellion did not break out until April
of that year, and yet we find these
envelopes described in the Timbre-Poste
of February of the same year,
on the authority of Der Philatelist of
the previous January. This all seems
to be very remarkable, especially as no
one but Mr. Hechler appears ever to
have had any of them.

A little delving into the history of
these stamps and envelopes soon showed
that they were nothing more than a private
speculation on the part of their
sponsor, Mr. Hechler. It appears that
Hechler was a captain in a Volunteer
regiment which was despatched to assist
in putting down the rebellion. He
had the words SERVICE printed on a
number of envelopes, postcards, and
probably stamps as well, which were
used in sending notices of drill, etc., to
his company. But they were never
issued or recognised by the Government
of Canada.

Chapter XXVIII.

The Special Delivery Stamp.

In March, 1884, the Philatelic Record
contained the following paragraph:—

We are informed that there is likely
to be issued shortly “a new ten cent
stamp of special design, which, when
attached to a letter, will ensure its
immediate delivery to its address at
any free delivery office, between the
hours of 7 a.m. and 12 midnight.” A
similar system has, we believe, been in
use for some years in Belgium, where
the extra charge is paid in telegraph
stamps.

This was certainly a case of intelligent
anticipation for it was not until fourteen
years later that a stamp of this
character was issued by the Dominion of
Canada. The Postmaster-General's Report
for 1898 referred to the introduction
of the new stamp as follows:—

The calendar year has witnessed the
introduction of the special delivery
stamp, whereby on the payment of a
delivery fee of 10 cents in addition to
the ordinary postage, a letter immediately
upon its arrival at the office of
destination is sent by special messenger
for delivery to the addressee.

A special-delivery stamp of the face-value
of 10 cents was prepared, and
the first supplies thereof were sent out
sufficiently early to Postmasters to
permit of the inauguration of the
special delivery service on the 1st July,
1898. The object of the service is to
secure special and prompt delivery of
a letter on which a special-delivery
stamp, in addition to the ordinary
postage, has been affixed.

The new system was dealt with at
some length in a circular issued to postmasters
under date June 7th, 1898, and
as this is of considerable interest we
reproduce it below:—

The Postmaster-General has approved
of arrangements whereby, on
and from the first of July proximo,
the senders of letters posted at any
Post Office in Canada and addressed
to a City Post Office now having Free
Delivery by Letter Carriers shall, on
prepayment by Special Delivery stamps
of the face-value of ten cents, affixed
one to each letter, in addition to the
ordinary postage to which the same
are liable, secure their special delivery
to the persons to whom they are addressed
within the limits of Letter
Carrier Delivery at any one of the
following Post Offices in Cities, viz.:—Halifax,
St. John, N. B., Fredericton,
Quebec, Montreal, Ottawa, Kingston,
Toronto, Brantford, Hamilton,
London, Winnipeg, Victoria, and Vancouver.
The hours of delivery to be
within 7 a.m. and 11 p.m. daily, except
Sunday. These hours are subject
to change as dictated by local
circumstances. Drop-letters posted for
local delivery, and bearing Special Delivery
stamps, in addition to the postage,
will also be entitled to special
delivery in the same manner as letters
received at the Post Office by mail.

Registered letters may likewise
come under the operations of this
scheme of Special Delivery, in the
same way as ordinary letters, provided
they bear Special Delivery stamps, in
addition to the full postage and the
registration fee fixed by law, and the
regulations respecting the record and
receipting of registered matter are
observed. In despatching registered
letters that bear Special Delivery
stamps, the Postmaster should write
prominently across the registered-package envelope the words “For
Special Delivery.” When Special Delivery
letters (unregistered) number
five or more for any one office the
Postmaster should make a separate
package of them, marking it “For
Special Delivery”; if such letters are
fewer than five, he should place them
immediately under the “facing-slip” of
the letter-package which he makes up,
either directly or indirectly, for the
Special Delivery office for which they
are intended, so that the most prompt
attention may be secured therefor.

Special Delivery stamps will be sold
at all Money Order Post Offices in
Canada, (which may secure a supply
of such stamps in the same way as
ordinary stamps are obtained), for
which the Postmasters will have to
account as they do for ordinary stamps
and on the sales of which a total commission
of ten per cent. shall be allowed
to Postmasters, except to Postmasters
having fixed salaries. For the
present Postmasters will use the existing
forms of requisition in applying
for Special Delivery stamps. (The
usual discount may be allowed to a
licensed stamp vendor at the time that
he purchases Special Delivery stamps
from the Postmaster). Special Delivery
stamps are to be cancelled as
postage stamps are cancelled. Stamps
intended for Special Delivery are not
available for any other purpose, and
the article upon which one is affixed
must have, besides, the ordinary postage
prepaid by postage stamps. Under
no circumstances will Special
Delivery stamps be recognised in payment
of postage or of registration fee,
nor can any other stamp be used to
secure Special Delivery, except the
Special Delivery stamp. Special Delivery
stamps are not redeemable.

Letters intended for Special Delivery
at any one of the City Post
Offices above mentioned, and prepaid
as directed, may be mailed at any Post
Office in Canada.

The regulations relating to First
Class Matter (Inland Post) apply
also and equally to Special Delivery
letters, the only difference being the
special treatment which the latter receive
with a view to accelerating their
delivery.

The object sought by the establishment
of Special Delivery,—namely, the
special delivery of letters transmitted
thereunder,—will be much promoted if
the senders of all such letters are careful
to address them plainly and fully,
giving, if possible, the street and
number in each case. Such care will
serve not only to prevent mistakes, but
also to facilitate delivery. All employees
of the Post Office are enjoined
to expedite, in every way in their
power, the posting, transmission and
delivery of letters intended for Special
Delivery.

These special delivery stamps are distinctly
different in design from the
ordinary postage stamps, the reason for
this being, of course, that letters intended
for special delivery may be at once
identified and their handling facilitated.
The stamps are oblong in shape, measuring
about 31 mm. by 23 mm. high.
The centre consists of an engine turned
oval, in the middle of which is the word
TEN in uncolored block letters on a
solid disc of color. Around this is an
oval filled with lathe-work and then
comes an oval band inscribed “SPECIAL
DELIVERY WITHIN CITY LIMITS”
in similar lettering to that of the word
of value. This, in turn, is enclosed within
another oval of lathe-work. The
frame shows “CANADA POST OFFICE”
in a straight label across the top,
while the lower and side borders are
filled with lathe-work intercepted at the
bottom by a straight label containing
“TEN CENTS”, and at each side by a
small circle containing the numerals
“10.” The spandrels are filled with
conventional foliate ornaments. The
value and special use of the stamp is
thus plainly depicted and letters bearing
them are easily sorted from the ordinary
mail.

The stamps were, like all other Canadian
stamps, printed from line-engraved
plates. They were printed in
sheets of fifty arranged in ten horizontal
rows of five each. The imprint and
plate number “OTTAWA——No.——1”
are shown in the upper margin above
the central stamp. Apparently this original
plate is still in use, for no other
plate number has yet been recorded.

At first the stamps were printed in
deep green, but in January, 1906, the
Philatelic Record mentioned a new shade,
described as blue-green, and recent printings have been in a very deep shade of
blue-green.

The use of these special delivery
stamps, though somewhat restricted at
first, soon grew steadily in volume, showing
that the public appreciated the
special service. The Postmaster-General
in referring to this matter in his Report
for 1899 says:—“The 10 cent Special
Delivery stamps, to which reference was
made in the last report, came into use
at the beginning of the current fiscal
year, simultaneously with the commencement
of the Special Delivery Service,
and of this stamp 52,940 were issued to
meet the demands, which would go to
show that the service is being availed
of to a considerable extent throughout
the country.”

Later Reports simply indicate the extension
of the service to other offices,
though the one for 1908 also concedes
that the use of a Special Delivery stamp
is not compulsory to secure this service
so long as the extra fee of ten cents is
prepaid. We read that:—

The regulations respecting special
delivery have been so modified that it
is no longer necessary for a person
despatching a letter which he desires
to have delivered immediately,
to provide himself with the “special
delivery” stamp issued by the department.
He may now place upon his letter
ordinary postage stamps to the value
of ten cents in addition to the stamps
required for the prepayment of postage
and write across the corner of the
envelope the words “special delivery”.
This will ensure the special delivery
of the letter as provided for in the
regulations.

Chapter XXIX. The Registration Stamps.

The convenience of the registry system
was adopted in Canada in May,
1855, at which time the fee was the remarkably
low one of one penny. In
1856 the system was extended to cover
letters sent to the United States by
mutual agreement between the post
office departments of both countries,
and while the domestic rate remained
at one penny the fee for the registration
of letters to the United States was
three pence. Mr. Howes has discovered
an interesting notice in the Canadian
Directory for 1857-8 which gives
further details as follows:—

Persons transmitting letters, which
they desire should pass through the
post as “registered letters”, must observe
that no record is taken of any
letter unless specially handed in for
registration at the time of the posting.
Upon all such letters, with the
exception of those addressed to the
United States, one penny must be
prepaid as a registration charge. If
addressed to the United States, the
ordinary postage rate on the letters to
that country must be prepaid, and in
addition a registration charge of 3d
per letter. The registry thus effected
in Canada will be carried on
by the United States Post Office until
the letter arrives at its destination.

In like manner, letters addressed to
Canada may be registered at the place
of posting in the United States, and
the registry made there will accompany
the letter to the place of delivery
in Canada.

A certificate of registration will be
given by the postmaster if required.

The registration system can be applied
to the letter portion of the mail
only.

The registration system at that time
made no provision for compensation in
case of the loss of letters, the small
extra fee charged simply indicating that
extra care would be taken to secure
proper delivery. Evidently at that time
the fee was paid in money, and the
letters then marked with a handstamp
of some sort, for in the Postmaster-General's
Report for 1858 we read, “It
is also considered that it would be an
improvement on the system if the
charge for registration were made pre-payable
by a stamp, instead of by money
as at present.” It is probable that
shortly after this the prepayment of the
registry fee was indicated by the affixing
of stamps of the required value.
The report for 1860 refers to the system
as follows:—

A rate of charge for Registration
so low as, in no probable degree, to
operate as a motive, with persons
posting letters of value, to deny themselves
the advantage of securing from
the Post Office an acknowledgment of
the receipt of the specific letter, has
always been considered to be a cardinal point in the Canadian Registration
System.

The Registration fee, or charge,
has, therefore, under the influence of
this consideration, been maintained at
2 cents, though it is doubtful whether
such a rate of charge covers the
actual cost of the process; the address
of the Registered Letter having,
in the course of transmission, to
be entered on an average not less
than six times, and forms of certificate
or receipt, and Books in which
to preserve permanent records at each
Post Office, to be supplied.

The postal officials were evidently
strong believers in the Registration
system and lost no opportunity of
dwelling on its merits. In his Report
for 1864 the Postmaster-General tells
of its manifold advantages as follows:—

When a letter is registered, that is
to say, marked and recorded in the
Post Office so as to individualise it
from the bulk of ordinary letter correspondence,
its presence in the Post
Office can be identified and its course
of transmission traced, and a registered
letter is thus secured from the
chance of abstraction by an unfaithful
messenger employed to post it (as it
is always open to proof whether the
letter was posted for registration or
not), from risk of loss by accidental
mis-direction on the part of the
sender, and from mistakes in the
Post Office—such as mis-sending or
delivery to a wrong party. Against
actual dishonesty on the part of the
Post Office employes, a registered
letter is incomparably more secure
than an unregistered one, for an unregistered
money-letter and the nature
of its contents are, to any person accustomed
to handle letters, as manifest
as though the letter had been
singled out and marked by the registered
stamp. Moreover, the safety of
an unregistered letter is dependent
on the integrity of a Post Office Clerk
during the whole time that it remains
in his custody, frequently for hours,
or even days; whilst a registered
letter will almost invariably have to
be acknowledged at the moment of
its passing into an officer's hands, and
cannot thereafter be suppressed without
leaving him individually accountable
for its disposal.

At what date the registry system was
extended to letters sent to other countries
than the United States is not clear
but Mr. Howes has succeeded in unearthing
a document which shows the
rates prevailing in 1865-6:—

The charge for Registration, in addition
to the Postage, is as follows,
viz.:—

On Letters to any other place in
Canada or British North America,

2 cents

On Letters for the United States,

5 cents

On Letters for the United Kingdom,

12½ cents

On Letters for British Colonies or
Possession sent via England,

25 cents

On Letters for France and other Foreign
Countries via England, an
equal amount to the postage rate.

Both the postage charge and registration
fee must in all cases be prepaid.

It was not until 1872 that the idea of
issuing special stamps for the prepayment
of the registration fee was mooted
but in the Postmaster-General's Report
for that year we read:—

It seems expedient to adopt some
distinctive postage stamp to be used
only in prepayment of the Registration
charge, both to make it clear that
this charge has been duly paid and
accounted for in every case, and to
diminish the risk which is occasionally
felt at points of distribution of
omitting to carry on the Registration
in cases where the ordinary Registration
postmark is not as distinct
and calculated to arrest attention as
it should be.

It has always been the policy of
the Canadian Post Office to admit
letters to Registration at a low rate
of charge for the additional security
thus given, so as to leave no adequate
motive, on the score of cost, for sending
valuable letters through the mails
unregistered, and, doubtless, the very
large proportion of such letters offered
for registration demonstrates a
gratifying measure of success in attaining
the desired object.

In spite of this recommendation it
was not until three years later that
special stamps for Registration purposes
made their appearance. They were
finally placed on sale on November 15th,
1875, and were referred to by the Postmaster-General
in his Report for that
year as follows:—

Registration stamps have been issued,
to be used by the public in
prepaying the registration charges on
letters passing within the Dominion,
or to the United Kingdom or United
States, each destination being distinguished
by a different color in the
stamp, as well as by a variation in
the amount of registration charge and
corresponding value of the stamp.

There is a red stamp of the value of
two cents for the prepayment of the
registration charges on letters within
the Dominion.

There is a green stamp of five cents
value for registered letters addressed
to the United States.

There is a blue stamp of eight
cents value for registered letters addressed
to the United Kingdom.

These stamps are to apply exclusively
to the registration charges and
the postage rates on registered letters
are to be prepaid by the ordinary
postage stamps.

It is believed that the use of these
distinctive stamps for the registration
charges will tend to give registered
letters additional security against the
risk which is sometimes felt of the
registration escaping observation,
when such letters are dealt with hurriedly
or handled at night, whilst
passing through the post.

These registration stamps were not
only of distinctive design but also of
distinctive shape so that they were
readily recognised from ordinary
postage stamps. They are long, narrow
labels and the design is the same for
each. On an engine-turned background
the word “REGISTERED” in
large uncolored Roman capitals is
curved prominently across the centre.
Below is “LETTER STAMP”, also
curved but in smaller letters, while
above is “CANADA” on a straight label
in still smaller lettering. At each end
are tables containing the value in
words reading up at the left and down
at the right, and in the upper corners
are large uncolored numerals plainly
denoting the value. Like all other
Canadian stamps they were printed
from line-engraved plates on unwatermarked
paper. They were at first
printed in sheets of fifty in ten horizontal
rows of five stamps each. Mr.
Howes describes the marginal details as
follows:—

The imprint was the same as the
second type employed for the small
“cents” issue—“British American
Bank Note Co. Montreal” in a
pearled frame—and likewise appeared
four times on the sheet, as already
fully described in the chapter dealing
with that issue. The denomination of
the stamp was also expressed as TWO
CENTS, in the shaded Roman capitals
which we found in the case of the
postage stamps, over the first stamp
in the top row of that value, but with
the 5 cent the word FIVE alone appears.
The 8 cent we have not seen.
On the 2 cent there is also a large
numeral 2, 7½ mm. high, over the
last stamp in the top row (number 5)
but the 5 cent has none.

The stamps were ordinarily perforated
12, like the then current postage
stamps, but the 2c in orange and the
5c in dark green are both known entirely
imperforate.

The Postmaster-General's Report for
1877 stated that “the registration charge
on registered letters between the United
Kingdom and Canada has been reduced
from 8 cents to 5 cents”. This, naturally,
largely reduced the demand for
the 8 cents stamp though it is probable
that the 8c rate still applied to foreign
countries. Shortly afterwards (the
exact date has not been traced) the
registration fee on letters to all foreign
countries was reduced to 5 cents so that
the use of the 8c denomination was
entirely abolished. The stamps in the
hands of postmasters were called in
and destroyed and by examining the
official figures relating to the numbers
originally issued and those destroyed
Mr. Howes estimates that about 40,000
of these 8c registration stamps were
used.

In 1889 a general revision of postal
rates took place, as already explained in
Chapter X, and one of these changes
affected the registration fee. The domestic
fee was raised from 2c to 5c so
that the registration charge was uniform
and was 5c on letters sent anywhere.
This, of course, did away with
the usefulness of the 2c registration
stamps but, as indicated in the official
circular, “for the present, and until further
instructed, the registration fee maybe
prepaid by using the 2 cent Registration
stamps and postage stamps to
make up the amount.”

The Postmaster-General's Report for
1889, in referring to the advance in the
registration charge, says:—

The charge for the registration of
a letter, parcel, book or other articles
of mail matter was also made uniform,
and fixed at 5 cents for all
classes of matter. The frequent delay
consequent upon the prepayment
of a wrong registration fee will no
longer take place.

The removal of the printing establishment
of the British American Bank
Note Company from Montreal to Ottawa
resulted in some marked changes
in the shades of the then current postage
stamps as we have already shown in a
previous chapter. The registration
stamps were also affected in some degree
the 2 cents value, in particular, appearing
in a number of new and
brighter tints. The 5c appeared in blue-green—a
distinct contrast from the
green and yellow-green shades previously
current.

In 1892 some of the postage stamps,
it will be remembered, appeared in
sheets of 200 instead of 100 as formerly.
About the same period new plates were
made for the 5c registration stamp,
these containing one hundred impressions
in ten rows of ten, instead of fifty
as before.

On August 1st, 1893, a regular postage
stamp of the denomination of 8c
was issued for the purpose of paying
the postage and registration charge and
the appearance of this sounded the
death knell of the special registration
stamps. The supplies in the hands of
postmasters were used up and when exhausted
no more were printed.

Much has been written regarding the
2c registration stamp printed in brown.
These were originally found at the
Miscou Light House Post Office in New
Brunswick and though the stamps were
in an unmistakably dark brown shade it
has since been satisfactorily proved that
the change was quite accidental and that
immersion in peroxide would restore
them to their original color. Although
the Postmaster of the above named office
is said to have stated that the
stamps were in brown when he received
them there is little doubt he must have
been mistaken. Much the same thing
happened in connection with the current
six cents United States stamps at an
office on the Pacific Coast (San Pedro).
Some of these stamps were found in a
distinct brown shade almost exactly
matching that of the 4c value and
though some local collectors had
dreams of a rare error of color it was
easily proved that they were simply
oxidised.

Chapter XXX. The Postage Due Stamps.

Like most other countries Canada
managed to collect the postage due on
insufficiently prepaid mail matter for
many years without the use of special
stamps for the purpose. About 1906 it
dawned on the Post Office Department
that the use of special stamps would
simplify matters and place the collection
of monies due on a more systematic
basis. Consequently a circular was issued
to postmasters, under date of June
1st, 1906, advising them that postage
due stamps would be issued and must,
for the future, be used in collecting insufficient
postage. The salient points
from this circular are given by Mr.
Howes as follows:—

Commencing on the 1st July, 1906,
the present system of collecting unpaid
postage will be discontinued and
thereafter the following arrangements
will supersede the regulations now in
force:—

The Department will issue a
special stamp which will be known as
the “POSTAGE DUE” stamp and on
delivery of any article of mail matter
on which unpaid or additional postage
is to be collected the Postmaster will
affix and cancel as ordinary stamps
are cancelled, postage due stamps to
the amount of the extra postage
charged on such article.

The short paid postage must
be collected from the addressee before
postage due stamps are affixed;
otherwise the Postmaster is liable to
lose the amount of such postage.

Postmasters will obtain postage
due stamps on requisition to the
Department but the initial supply will
be furnished without requisition, so
that the new system may go into
operation on the date above mentioned.
When a new form is ordered
“postage due” stamps will be included
in the printed list, but it is proposed
to use the stock on hand at present
which would otherwise have to be destroyed.
The denominations of the
new stamps will be 1, 2 and 5 cents.

In his Report for 1906 the Postmaster-General
refers to the new innovation
as follows:—

A system of accounting for short
paid postage collected by Postmasters,
by means of special stamps known as
“Postage Due” stamps, has been
adopted by the Department. These
stamps are to be affixed to shortpaid
mail matter and cancelled by Postmasters
when such matter is delivered
to the addressee, and are not to be
used for any other purpose. They
cannot be used for the payment of
ordinary postage, nor are they to be
sold to the public.

These stamps are of special design
and though of the same size as the
regular postage stamps the design is
printed the longer way so that in general
appearance they are greatly different.
The design has, as its centerpiece,
a large uncolored numeral on an eight-sided
tablet. Above is CANADA and
below is the word CENT while at the
sides are elaborate scroll ornaments.
Across the base the words POSTAGE
DUE are shown in bold uncolored capitals
while the balance of the design consists
of an engine-turned groundwork.

They are printed from line-engraved
plates in sheets of one hundred, as usual.
In the centre of the top margin is the
imprint, “OTTAWA”, followed by the
plate number. Mr. Howes states that
plate 1 is known for all three values
and plate 2 for the 2 cent only.

Chapter XXXI. The “Officially Sealed” Labels.

Although “officially sealed” labels cannot
by any stretch of the imagination
be considered as postage stamps or, indeed,
of having any philatelic significance
yet they are collected by many,
in common with adhesive registered
labels, as having an interest owing to
the fact that they are visible evidence
of one phase of the working of the post
office. The “officially sealed” labels
used by the Canadian Post Office seem
to have been first recorded in the latter
part of 1879. The first type consists of
a rectangular label, measuring about
25½ by 38 mm. on which the words
“OFFICIALLY SEALED” are shown
straight across the centre. Above this,
in a curve, is the inscription “POST
OFFICE CANADA”, while below, in a
similar curve, is “DEAD LETTER
OFFICE”. The border consists of a
handsome piece of engine-turned engraving.
These labels were normally
perforated 12 but they are also known
entirely imperforate. Much misconception
existed as to the use of these labels
until Major E. B. Evans, when visiting
Canada in 1889, took the opportunity of
finding out exactly for what they were
used. The results of his investigations
were published in the Philatelic Record
for November, 1889, and as the article
is full of interest we need make no
apology for reproducing it in extenso:—

When I was in Canada last July I
made special enquiries about these
labels, as there appeared to be some
mystery about their use. Everyone
agreed that they were not placed
upon all letters opened at the Dead
Letter Office and returned to their
senders, and no two persons seemed
to have quite the same theory as to
the rules for their employment or
non-employment in any particular
case. Even gentlemen connected
with the Post Office at Halifax, such
as Mr. King and others, could give me
no definite information. I therefore
determined to see what I could do at
headquarters in Ottawa.

Fortunately, I was able, through a
collector in an official position, to obtain
an introduction to the Deputy
Postmaster-General, who most kindly
gave me the following particulars,
which show that the employment of
the officially sealed labels is very restricted,
thus accounting for their
rarity.

Letters in Canada, as in the United
States, very frequently have on the
outside the well-known notice containing
the address of the sender, and
a request that the letter may be returned
if not delivered within a certain
time. These, of course, are not
opened at the Dead Letter Office, and
in fact, I think, are ordered not to
be sent there, but are returned direct
from the office to which they were
originally addressed or from the head
office of the district. On the other
hand, those that have no indication
of the address of the sender on the
outside are sent to the Dead Letter
Office, and there necessarily opened;
but neither of these classes thus
properly dealt with is considered to
require the officially-sealed label. It
is only if one of the former class,
having the sender's name and address
on the outside, is sent to the Dead
Letter Office and there opened in
error that the officially-sealed label is
applied, to show that such letter has
been opened officially, and not by any
unauthorized person. Whether these
pieces of gummed paper ever had a
more extended use or not I cannot
say, but I was assured that the above
was the substance of the regulations
as to their employment.

The Deputy Postmaster-General
further stated that there had been so
many requests for specimens of these
labels that the Department had been
obliged to make it a rule to turn a
deaf ear to all of them. In any case
they are not postage stamps, properly
speaking, at all. They indicate
neither postage paid nor postage due,
but simply that the letters to which
they are attached have been opened
by proper authority, and they at the
same time afford a means of reclosing
them.

About 1905 a label of new design was
introduced, this, of course, being the
work of the American Bank Note Company.
These are larger than their
predecessors and are very handsome
labels. In the centre is an excellent
portrait of Queen Victoria, adapted
from the “Law Stamps” of 1897, with
“CANADA” in heavy uncolored Roman
capitals curved above, and, at the top,
the words “OFFICIALLY SEALED”
in letters so graded that the tops form
a straight line, while the bottoms follow
the curve of “CANADA”. Under the
portrait the words “DEAD LETTER”
are shown on a straight label which extends
right across the stamp, while below
this is the word “OFFICE” on a
curved tablet. The spaces at the sides
and the bottom are filled with elaborate
foliate ornaments and engine-turned
work. These labels are also perforated
12 and exist on two kinds of
paper. Until about 1907 the paper was
of a pale blue color while subsequent
printings have been on ordinary white
paper.

The End

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